Full Dark Rewrite
by Riverhaze
Summary: NaruSaku/SakuNaru Something broke inside Sakura the night Sasuke left, and she decided then the only way to kill the lie was to embrace the darkness, rewrite of another story of mine, do not own Naruto
1. The Field of Blasted Flowers

The morning was bright and early as a pinkette made her way down the dirt path that twisted through the village, one of the many roads that lacked a name. A small vase of flowers was clutched in one hand and her eyes were downcast, her head bowed in defeat from some force. A few shops were opening, their owners yawning as they lifted up the iron bar curtains. A few vagabonds from the night drifted around still, but were quickly hiding away from the day and the respectable civilians that inhabited it.

Sakura Haruno was a very distinct person, one could hardly forget her. She wore bright red dresses and had shocking pink hair with jade green eyes and perfect skin that lacked any blemish. Her eyes sparkled with life and a smile was set against her lips at all times. People had a high opinion of her in the village and regarded her as the blooming flower of Konoha. But today, Sakura Haruno was still unforgettable. Her hair was messy and unwashed, her eyes rimmed with red and swollen from crying them dry. She seemed close to crying still, and her lower lip trembled just a bit.

She turned onto the Hospital drive and climbed her way to the doors. Tired orderlies were retiring from their night shifts and their replacements were trickling in. The Haruno was directed to the room she needed and walked up the stairs slowly. Occasionally, she would rest and lean against the wall the catch her breath.

A bruised and battered blond haired boy was laying unconscious on a hospital bed in a largely vacant ward. His chest rose and fell steadily, and a machine next to him beeped on time to his heart. Ways a way, the door opened and a pink haired girl peered in. She scuttled toward her team mate's bed quickly and placed the vase of flowers at his bed side. She paused to study Naruto Uzumaki's features.

"S-sakura..."He breathed and she froze. He mumbled her name once more and rolled over in his sleep and the girl let out a sigh of relief.

"I'm sorry Naruto...please don't feel as if you are held to that promise. I was not myself when I asked..." She whispered. She stayed there for a minute more before turning and leaving the white room behind and the smell of antiseptic. The village was awakening now, it was Saturday and weekend shoppers were beginning to appear. The Haruno ninja let her feet carry her and she ignored her name being called by a familiar voice.

The Hokage Tower always seemed like something regal to her, as if a princess was sealed away at the top and a valiant knight was awaiting at the bottom ready to rescue her. It stood for law and order, the sentinel of the city. She had only visited it once for her interview by the Third and two other ninja. The old man smiled at her and praised her high marks on the graduation exam. He said he expected great things from her while the other two exchanged doubtful glances.

Sakura opened the door to the lobby and a secretary was sorting stacks of paper into different piles. She ignored the woman's protests when she kept going past her and up the stair way to the Hokage's office. Naruto had once told her were it was when he was rambling on about Tsunade. Sakura had only talked to the busty woman a few times, each of those times in polite company, the blonde's attention displayed fully toward her team mates. The pinkette ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time and nearly tripping once. Sakura stopped outside the woman's office and knocked. Shizune answered with a surprised look on her face when Sakura mumbled if she could come in.

"Is security in this place really that bad to were a snot nosed genin can just waltz in?" Tsunade slurred from behind her desk.

"Lady Tsunade, this is Sakura Haruno, Naruto Uzimaki and Sasuke Uchiha's team mate." Shizune said formally and smiled at the pink haired genin.

"Are you here to complain and cry about the failure of getting that blasted Uchiha back?" Tsunade growled, swaying a little in her seat.

"N-no Hokage-sama. I-I came h-here to ask y-you something-g." Sakura stuttered to a point were Hinata would be proud. Both of the women stared at Sakura, awaiting her question. The pinkette exhaled deeply and swallowed away her fears. "I want you to train me Hokage-sama. I want to be able to help Naruto get back Sasuke the next time there is a chance, and I'm to weak to do it! I want to be strong and stand at their sides as an equal not as a liability!" Sakura said in one breath, bowing deeply and fighting back shame.

The room was silent for a few minutes as Shizune's eyes darted back and forth between the two and Tsunade seemed to be deep in thought. Sakura kept her eyes squeezed shut in case the Hokage laughed at her and she was thrown out of the office for even suggesting the idea. That way she wouldn't see the look on her face.

"Very well, I'll train you. Report here tomorrow morning at seven a.m. for the start." Tsunade said, amused. Sakura looked up, her eyes wide in disbelief, then her mouth split in two.

"Thank you Tsunade-sama! You won't regret it!" She said excitedly and bounded out of the room.

"What did I just get myself into?" Tsunade sighed when the girl's red dress whipped out of sight. Sakura ran back to her house, and by the time she reached her door way, she had to lean against it and catch her breath for a few minutes. A pressure settled in her chest and she had to sit down and buried her head in her hands.

The feelings she had managed to suppress for the few hours she dared to venture out into the world broke through like a poorly constructed dam and she shuddered. The boy she devoted her life to, fantasized about as a child, become an actual friend to him and began to feel genuine love for, was gone. And he didn't give a shit about her. After she confessed her love, all he did was smirk, tell her thank you, and knock her out. What the hell did he mean by that anyway? She had devoted endless hours to deciphering his meaning.

'I'm an idiot. I'm a fool.' She ran her hand through her short hair once more and her fingers snagged on entwined strands. She tugged her hand loose and her eyes watered from the pain just a little. She leaned back on her couch and gazed at the ceiling. Here she was, looking at the remains of her life. She was on longer twelve, a child, sheltered by the village. She had seen death, looked it in the eye and challenged it and lived. A huge gap was in her life now and she had a decision to make. Sasuke had prophesied that the three team members of lucky number team seven were destined for different paths, and that when he left, their separate journeys would begin.

She got up and slowly made her way to the stairs, her parents sleeping in for the day. Her foot fell firmly on the first step and she felt something fall off the shelf inside her. Her other foot raised then lowered and she began her ascend up the stairs. Each foot fall, something would shatter inside. It was the oddest feeling, yet she was compelled not to stop it but to investigate it as it happened. When she reached the top she swayed on her feet and it was then that she realized she was about to feint from exhaustion. She had only had about three hours total of sleep from last night and only two the previous night.

She stumbled toward her room and the world teetered on edge, her empty stomach heaved, yet there was nothing to expel. She fell onto her knees on her carpet and crawled to her bed. Darkness ebbed at her vision and she did not make it, passing out on the floor.

She was standing in a field of delicate pink flowers. A magnificent cherry blossom tree was the center of the field, it's own Hokage tower. About the size of an oak tree, it's petals were tugged away by the wind in a beautiful swirl and daintily drifted away. The sky was a forget-me-not hue, with a sun that resembled melted butter. She let out a sigh, this place must be some sort a heaven and she began to sit down and enjoy a nice nap under the pleasant sun.

A movement caught her eye and the pinkette turned to make sure it just wasn't a trick of the light. In a small patch of flowers five or six feet away, a black mass rose up from the ground. The ooze dripped off and slowly the mass took a form of a girl. Skin peered through small holes, and arms broke out from its sides, fingers curled outward and legs appeared. A head lifted upward, and it was then that Sakura noticed it was herself. Except, the doppelganger had thick black bags under their eyes that resembled bruises, and a harsh set face twisted into a foul smirk.

"Do you care for poetry?" The twin asked. Sakura could only blink, and her reflection nodded at this. "Let none of earth inherit that vision on my spirit," this Dark-Sakura said and took a step forward, the flowers around her feet wilted into ash under her touch, "Those thoughts I would control as a spell upon his soul, for that bright hope at last and that light time have past." The Dark-Sakura was standing before the real one, a path of dirt now cut through the flowers.

"And my worldly rest hath gone with a sigh as it pass'd on." Sakura breathed, and her eyes widened, the words had spilled out of her mouth without her control, and Dark-Sakura smirk widened.

"I care not tho' it perish with a thought I did then cherish." Dark-Sakura finished and with each syllable she slowly leaned toward the pinkette until she was an inch away. With a great leap, Sakura felt the double jump inside her. She screamed until her lungs seemed to burst, as it felt like her entire flesh was burning, and she wanted to vomit, the pain was unbearable. Her jaw was clenched shut as if a hand had come up and forced it.

The flowers all exploded into dust, and the sun was blotted out like a candle's flame, the sky ran pitch black and the great cherry blossom tree was barren, a white twisting skeleton and the wind howled through the field of blasted flowers as Sakura collapsed in a shaking heap on the barren earth. Her eyes flew open and she found her self on the floor of her room. Her eyes darted to the clock, and she jolted as she realized the time, she had slept through the entire day. Her parents must have figured she was still hiding up in her room and just ignored her.

She tried to sit up but a heavy pressure had settle around her as if gravity had reversed. She gasped for breaths and her throat seemed to have swollen up into a small hole that not even a needle could fit through. Tears dripped through her eyes and his image burned through her mind and she came to terms then that she had been lied to her entire life. Love was a lie, it did not exist. The fairy tale of the princess awaiting her noble prince was just that, a fairy tale. In reality, the prince would have just seen the dragon guarding the girl and said 'screw it'. And the princess would die, still waiting for her prince.

_Kill the lie. Kill Sasuke Uchiha. _A raspy voice whispered in her ear and she felt the pressure begin to let up and a breath was sucked in as she turned her head with a great attempt to look out her window. The village was a black sea, all of the lights extinguished and even the stars were blackened out. When they eventually did come back on, she knew then that she would be stuck in that darkness, forever in the absence of light.

No stars, no light.

Full Dark.

* * *

><p>for those of you just joining the full dark experience, this is the third attempt at rewritting this story. i left the first chapter up bc i thought it was descent, but i saw the traffic for this story and there is a large drop off between the first and second chapter, as the first chapter is supposed to grab your attention and keep you wanted to read, so i went back and rewrote this chapter *le sigh"

the poem recited in the chapter is Imitation by Edgar Allan Poe, and the last to lines I..uh...borrowed from a stephen kind novel called full dark (i think) that was just the tag line for it lol

reviews are appreciated as are faves and alerts :) _there probably are alot of spelling errors in this chapter as i wrote it in an hour and glimpsed over it when i edited it lol_


	2. Foretold

A bird circled the sky searching for something dead to eat. Civilians milled about the park, children bounced along here and there. The sky was so _blue, _such a deep shade of blue anyone couldn't imagine it being grey. The sun was a bright yellow blob in the sky, shining down sun rays worthy of a tanning to those pale faced from the winter. Everything was so peaceful in the city, no one payed any attention to the lone pink haired girl sitting under a oak tree.

Her eyes were rimmed with red, others would guess from allergies. Sakura was just so tired of sitting in her room crying for a boy who didn't give a damn about her, she decided to venture outside and see what all the hub-bub was about. She hugged her knees to her chest and glared at that stupid bird, and she even glared at the sun, but not for long because the light was so bright it made her eyes hurt.

She played her hand in the dirt, tracing patterns before erasing them until her hands were encrusted with dirt. She ran her dirtied fingers through her hair, she should have washed it yesterday. Her skin was pale and clammy as if she was recovering from being sick, and her dress was dirty, stained with sweat from yesterday's Tsunade training session. She wiggled her toes, the green nail polish there was chipped, as was the nail polish on her fingers. She looked up and rest her chin on her knees, glaring at any one who dared to smile and laugh by her. After scaring off most of the toddlers and genin skipping class from the academy, she got up, making her way back home, sick of the fresh air.

She should have made a dash over the rooftops, people would look at her with curled noses as she passed. Sakura kept her eyes down, she hated that she looked an absolute mess, she hated crying all the time, she hated being weak. She hated _him. _She inhaled and exhaled, her breath wavering from a possible sob.

"Sakura!" She heard Ino call from behind her. The pinkette ignored her friend, stealing away in the crowd before the blonde could catch up to her.

_No stars, no light._

_Full Dark._

When Sakura entered her home, her mother and father had already departed for work. A package was placed on the kitchen counter with her name written on it in neat liberal penmanship.

'Mom.' Sakura sighed. Whenever she had showed signs of depression in the past, especially as a bullied child, her mother had thought gifts and presents would make her daughter feel better. The young Haruno faintly remembered their parents had gotten into a brief fight over it, her father wanted Sakura to become tough and whether the abuse from kids, after all she was going to be a ninja. Sakura opened the box, and pulled out a black shirt and matching pants and shoes.

'New training close, so you wont ruin any of your dresses!' Her mother had written on a card. Sakura smiled at the token just a bit, no doubt she'd need the close after her first day with Tsunade. She took a shower, washing out all the dirt and grime in her hair, which was getting longer by the way, and changed into a clean dress, setting her new training close aside for later. She pulled her hair back into a small nub of a pony tail, removing the tarnished nail polish on her hands and cutting the nails.

Sakura looked up into the mirror, last nights lack of sleep already brought on bags under her eyes, she chuckled as she pictured her mothers reaction to them, no doubt linking them to lack of finding a husband when older. Now that she was somewhat presentable, Sakura didn't want to stay inside, but she sure as hell did not want to go outside. Deciding on a brief walk, she set out, walking the familiar streets of Konoha.

Looping around the Hokage tower to go home, she passed a Hunter nin on her walk. She glanced up, this one was not sporting the kimono she often saw them wear, but the Anbu uniform. He was humming to himself, his feet barely touching the ground. He smiled at Sakura as she passed, and she stopped dead in her tracks. Slowly the gears were whirling in her head. Yesterday, she had been content with just becoming a medic blessed with super strength, so she could aid Naruto in his promise to bring back Sasuke. But maybe, just maybe.

'Hunter-nin?' A raspy voice whispered in her head, Dark-Sakura purred at the thought.

'It'd be a long shot, I'd have to train day in and day out, and not just under Tsunade-sama.' Sakura said.

She took off in a rush, a red blur back home, as if any one saw her they'd discover her fledgling plan and kill her on the spot for such a thought. She crawled through her window, rushing under her covers, breathing heavily and curling up in a ball. A smile slowly crept across her pace, and Dark-Sakura glinted through her green eyes.

* * *

><p>"I care not tho' it cherish, with a thought I did then cherish." Sakura whispered to herself, titling her head from side to side. Her hair was past her shoulders now, and she was trimming the split ends. Six months had passed since her revelation, and the pinkette was disappointed to say she had done nothing to set her plan into action. Her training was coming along better, her muscles faintly toned. She took to wearing her training uniform more and more as casual wear as well, buying more sets when needing to change into something clean.<p>

She liked having long hair, but she couldn't afford having it for long, especially in the field. If a hair was out of place and she paused to fix it, an enemy could strike at that moment and kill her. She pulled it back into a pony tail, using her head band to tie her bangs back.

"Hello, Billboard Brow." Sakura mocked herself, imitating Ino perfectly. Her forehead glistened and she frowned, glaring at the imperfection.

'Next time she calls you that, just head butt her with your forehead.' Dark-Sakura said, her voice like a piece of glass, smooth and clear, but sharp at the edges. Sakura closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. When she opened them, she was once again standing in the scorched field of dead flowers, and pitch black sky.

"Alright, who are you?" Sakura asked her reflection.

"Little ol' me? I'm you. I came to be after the death of Inner-Sakura. That annoying little brat died after your near death experience from Gaara." Dark-Sakura said, tilting her head from side to side like Sakura had done before in the mirror. "I've always been here, just emotions and deep down feelings every human has. But there is something about you, Sakura-chan. That I formed, from something broken inside." The real Sakura thought over what her reflection had said, she remembered vividly, adrenaline pumping through her system causing her to blindly jump in front of Sasuke, thinking foolishly she could impede the red haired monster. Sakura clutched at her chest, remembering the pain from being squished to near death as well.

"You tried to take me over." Sakura managed to speak up.

"No. Silly, Sakura-chan, you're letting me. Slowly but surely, the outside shall reflect the inside." Dark-Sakura swept her hands downward and out toward the real one.

"I want to make him pay," Both Sakura's spoke up this time, "I want to grind him to dust, annihilate him off the face of the planet."

When she opened her eyes to look back at herself in the mirror, she was all alone, left to talk to the voices in her head.

* * *

><p>Sakura Haruno had become a good little medic in the span of a year and a half, she even got to go on a few missions to test out her new found abilities. Dark-Sakura was always there, suppressed by Sakura's own sense of right and wrong, but she was always ready to take over, to pounce and sap the life out of it's host.<p>

"Tsunade-sama, when do you think I'll be Jonin level?" Sakura asked her sensei one day after a long shift at the hospital.

"At your current rate, I'd say...about three more years at the least." Tsunade nodded after contemplating. Sakura almost fell out of her seat and gripped her pencil so hard it snapped into dust. She didn't expect to become a Kage level nin over night, but she expected something. It seemed as if her training had improved her greatly at first, but now progress had slowed to a crawl. What had she done for a year and a half? "Cheer up, Naruto will be home soon." Tsunade said, taking a swig from a brandy bottle.

She had to form a plan of action, and fast. Her goal to shorten those three years to just a year and a half at the most.

'It's impossible, with out me, of course.' Dark-Sakura spoke up. Would she do it? Sell her soul, to herself, in order to attain the power she needed, the rank she sought after, to bring down Sasuke? She tugged at the end of her pony tail, now down to her waist. Always the well organized person, she set out to form a schedule. First, she had to draw up a list of areas that needed improvement. Taijutsu wasn't an alarming necessity, but monstrous strength wasn't what one would call 'stealthy'. With a pang, she added Genjutsu, her weakest area. 'So, basically, learn everything?' Dark-Sakura cackled at the page spanning list that had formed after a few hours contemplation.

'I can do it.' She snapped.

'No, you can't.' Dark-Sakura winked, laughing once more.

"Is everything okay, Sakura?" Shizune asked, noticing Sakura was staring at the list with large saucer shaped eyes and her mouth a small thin line.

"Erm, yes." Sakura cleared her throat, hiding the list in her bag to look over at home.

Later, she was sitting in her room listening to the tick tock of her clock on the wall. Sakura's eyes stared at a mounted set of swords on her wall used primarily for decoration. They could be used as weapons, but they had been in her family for so long, whose last generation of ninja's had been at least a hundred years ago, they sat unused. The blade's were probably dull, but that was nothing a good swords smith couldn't fix.

'Yes, they'll be perfect for drawing blood. Every warrior needs a signature weapon.' Dark-Sakura nodded with approval. Sakura got up and gently took one down, the sheath decorated with red flowers, the Haruno clan symbol adorned it here and there. She gripped the handle and carefully pulled out the weapon, the blade was pure white as if carved from alabaster and she ran her hand across the blade, dull, it didn't even manage to form a welt. Sakura counted her personal savings, she didn't know how much money she'd need, but she had allot. Her main problem would be finding a teacher on such sort notice.

She bundled up the swords, three in total, and left, jumping out of her window to make her way to the market. The Weapons shop was nestled between a bar-bee-q and a souvenir shop. She entered the small reception area, to the left hand side was another room were the wears were being sold. The pinkette tapped sharply on the bell once and a large man covered in soot appeared from the back room.

"May I help you?" He asked.

"Can you restore these?" Sakura asked, placing the weapons on the counter carefully. The man whistled as he picked them up, unsheathing them expertelly and admiring the craftsman ship.

"Wow, these are ancient," He said, gingerly putting the blade back into it's sheath as he observed each one, "Yes I can, but it'll cost five hundred coins." He said and Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. "A piece." He added and she almost fell down.

"I only have enough for one." Sakura frowned, she could save up enough for the other two eventually.

"I'd recommend this one, good for beginners, light and flexible but will pack a punch in the right hands." He held up the medium sized one.

"Alright. Do you know any good teachers?" Sakura asked.

"I can refer you to a few." He said, handing her several business cards she tucked unto her pocket. Departing with one of the swords and half of her money, Sakura made her way back home, shuffling through the business cards as she did, frowning at some of the names. They were all civilians, teaching sword fighting to bored upper class rich kids as a hobby. Not that she wanted to be a samurai, but she wanted to learn from a _legend_.

"Mom, do you know any good sword fighters?" She asked later at night. It was a rare appearance for her at the dinner table. Her mother was a social butterfly, so Sakura figured she must know about everyone in the village.

"Sword fighters? No honey, now I won't have such talk while eating dinner. I was at the market the other day and one of my girl friend's son's is single! I think you'd like him, very nice boy." Her mother fluttered about. This was one reason why Sakura tried to avoid dinner, her mother was on a mission for Sakura to get a boyfriend. Her father frowned from his seat but remained silent.

"Mom, I'm only fourteen." Sakura grumbled.

"But you are so mature for your age!" Her mother insisted. An hour later, Sakura managed to pry herself from her parents, her mother seeing it as a rare opportunity to have their daughter free, and wanted to go see a movie and meet up with her friend (the one with the son). She made up an excuse that she had to practice her medical jutsu's, something her father took seriously, and she was able to retreat into her room.

She sat staring at her list, wishing she could go to Tsunade about her wishes but was worried she'd offend the hazel eyed woman. 'Yeah, thanks for teaching me a bunch of useful information, buuut, I kinda wanted to learn something else.' She ran through her head. That'd go over well.

The next day, Sakura made a trip to the library. Being promoted to chuunin she had access to much wider variation of texts. She ran her hand along the thick volumes, not knowing where to start. Her head swam as she looked up the towering book cases. So much to learn, so little time.

"May I help you?" A bright voice asked. A librarian had appeared carrying a few books and noticed the lost look on Sakura's face.

"Oh, yes, erm." Sakura didn't know what to say so she just handed the woman her list. The librarian scanned the list, forming possible book lists for the girl to read, nodding here and there.

"Very ambitious list you have here. I believe we should start at the basics. But, seeing as how you're a chunnin and the Hokage's apprentice, you shouldn't have a problem starting in the intermediate levels." The woman said briskly, handing the list back. Sakura followed the woman around the library, having no idea how she knew were all the books were. She chatted happily as she crawled up the ladders and back down, pausing her and there to pull out a few books. When their scavenger hunt was over, Sakura had a few small towers of books to read occupying two desks. "It's always nice to see the youngsters interested in reading." The librarian clasped her hands and her eyes twinkled at the collection of books.

"I can't check these all out at once though." Sakura frowned.

"I'll let you check out a few at a time to take home, and keep the ones you can't take home pulled at the desk, how about that?" The woman asked and Sakura quickly agreed. The first set of books she started to read were on various types of taijutsu. She tried to be apologetic to the library hands that came over to take some of the books back to the main desk, but she had seen the Librarian do it by herself and kept her head bowed in reading. A few of the forms intrigued her, and she'd defiantly practice them. One was known as Bak Si Lum, which would be easy to learn with Tsunade's already set in her mind. One that intrigued her as well was known as Tai Chi Chuan, it looked difficult to learn but she liked the illustrations of people performing it.

She flipped the page to a new section and it read, '_A martial art style not for those who value life.'_

'Oooh, do go on.' Dark-Sakura spoke up. Even the regular Sakura was intrigued.

'_This form was created by the Black Monks in northern parts of the Fire Country. Known for wearing black robes and practicing ritualistic self mutilation, this religion views that humans are inherently evil. This form requires a solid and strong stance, the back must be kept firm and rigid, the legs solid and spread a few feet apart, the hands however are held loosely at one's side to be used at a moments notice for an attack. This form lacks great defense, but is excellent for close range hand to hand combat. ' _

That was all that was written, and Sakura flipped the page back and forth, gritting her teeth as she did so. 'Where the hell is the name?' She roared inwardly as she did so.

She left the library an hour later, weighed down with in-depth books on the two taijutsu styles she wished to learn, and one on the Black Monks, in case there was anything in it on their own brand of martial arts. She hurried to the hospital for her shift and reported to the Hokage afterward, assisting in the large pile of paperwork. Since she had become Tsunade's apprentice, she had become immersed in the village's politics, bantering back in forth with both Tsunade and Shizune. She shook her head as she made her way home, the only people she hung out with these days were her mentors and the ANBU that frequented the tower, even rubbing elbows with village elders. When she thought about it, she didn't hang out with any one her own age. With a pang, she regretted that she had grown so distant from Ino and the rest of the Konoha twelve...well, now ten with the absence of two members, but at least one would be returning soon. Hopefully they'd all understand.

'Some more than others.' Dark-Sakura rolled her eyes at Sakura's guilt over being such a bad friend to Ino, but the blonde should be worrying about her own training as well.

Sakura stopped by the weapons shop on her way home to check on her sword, and the sword-smith informed her it would be ready in the next few days. She ended up browsing through the weapons, remembering a time when Sakura had gone shopping for dresses, not knives. She liked a set of kunai's that had a sakura petal design etched into the blade and the grip was wrapped in red silk. She ended up buying them and a set of matching shuriken, placing the unopened boxes on her desk in her room. They were way to special to use in regular training.

Speaking of training, Sakura grabbed her books, slinging them over her shoulder in a bag and making her way to the training grounds. It was quiet and deserted, seeing as how everyone would be at home eating dinner with their families. She opened her first books, rifling through notes on the Bak Si Lum style, she had the theory down pat, but everyone knew that there was a large difference between theory and actual practice. She inhaled deeply and exhaled, trying to clear her mind. Slowly, she took the first stance, wishing she had someone there to tell her if it was correct or not. Glancing at the illustration in the book, she moved into the next stance, wanting to get them perfect before moving onto actually performing them.

She must have looked really stupid, standing in the middle of the field posing awkwardly. A few hours of this, she decided to act them out, finding a dummy to train against. Around midnight she wrapped her calloused knuckles in gauze before covering them with her gloves. She had made excellent progress in the Bak Si Lum fighting style, but was sure she was wrong in some of her stances.

The next day she didn't have a shift at the hospital, so she naturally rushed off to the training grounds to practice once more. After three weeks she had taken to the fighting style as well as she had to Tsunade's, wishing to find a sparing partner to test it out on an actual opponent that could fight back. It wouldn't be exactly tactful showing up on Ino's doorstep after several month's absence asking if she wanted to fight. 'I was in the neighborhood and wanted to know if I could beat the shit out of you, ya know, girl stuff.' She said in her head, frowning as she scanned over her notes on a position she knew she had trouble with. Moving in and out of them was her biggest challenge.

A month had passed and she had grown familiar with the style, not an expert, but pretty good. She decided to move onto the Tai Chi Chaun style. It required being patient with your opponent, having a strong defense and waiting for your opponent to show weakness before striking. It took a longer time for her to get the basics down, she even thought about giving up one long practice session.

One bright ray of hope was that her sword had been fixed. She exchanged her Bak Si Lum books (she practically had copied them word for word in her notebook) for a few sword fighting ones. Pausing her taijutsu training, she took to learning how to wield the sword. She didn't like the traditional Samurai style, and wasn't very fond of the Knight fighting style either. Sakura made a note to buy a Jian sword, as she liked the fighting style, maybe she'd be a good fencer? She didn't have a rapier, but the style involved being light on one's toes and graceful movements. She eventually settled on the longsword style. The right hand gripped the sword and you were supposed to hold it above your head, your elbow a perfect ninety degree angle, the left hand held out as if you were about to strike with it, the left hoot stood in front of the right. She easily learned it and even managed to incorporate some of the Bak Si Lum moves into it.

From some stroke of luck, her shifts at the hospital were becoming shorter and shorter to make way for newer medics coming in, and Tsunade's lessons were reaching their end. Sakura still found herself running into the problem that she had no training partner, mulling this over one day while reading through her notes on Tai Chi Chaun.

'What about me?' Dark-Sakura frowned.

'I can't fight myself.' Sakura answered, and Dark-Sakura giggled at this. She rolled her eyes heavily, almost ripping the page as she turned it.

'C'mon, you'll never know unless you try.' Dark-Sakura begged. Sakura closed her eyes and took a deep breath like she had done so many months before in the mirror. She wasn't surprised to open her eyes and find herself standing in the blasted field of flowers. Dark-Sakura stood across from the real one, her hands rest by her side loosely. "Now, let's start, shall we?" She said and the two Haruno's bowed. Sakura fluidly pulled into the first stance of Bak Si Lum as Dark-Sakura charged at her with her fists.

Sakura rolled, dodging as a miniature crater exploded where she once was. She struck her opponent with the first attack, chakra laced in the attack as well and Dark-Sakura was pushed back by the force of it. Sakura took advantage of her opponent stumbling on her feet, sweeping her leg under Dark-Sakura's ankles, causing the reflection to land flat on her back. Adrenaline pumping through her system, Sakura lifted her leg back up into a sweeping kick, but Dark-Sakura caught hold of it, tossing the real one head over heals. She appeared above Sakura, and pounded her back with a chakra powered fist. She tasted earth and spat it out, standing back up and healing her minor injuries, proud she could do it now without using her hands.

"How can you ever expect to defeat even Ino, if you can't beat yourself?" Dark-Sakura laughed as she watched the real Sakura stagger into the Tai Chi Chaun style. Sakura blocked her first attack, bracing herself against her own chakra powered fists and kicked, each attack caused her to dig further and further into the earth. As Dark-Sakura reeled back to punch again, Sakura attacked in a split second, her hand flat and palm pointed up, connected with Dark-Sakura's side, causing her attack to fail. Sakura utilized this and her other fist came down, and struck Dark-Sakura's large forehead. By instinct chakra had flooded into her fist, and Dark-Sakura was sent flying across the field.

"Ha, I win." Sakura said and closed her eyes to wake back up. As she was leaving the scorched field, she heard Dark-Sakura growl, 'For now.'

Sakura shoved the internal fight out of her mind as she tried moved onto ninjutsu. She thought of all the ninjutsu moves she had seen, and her thoughts lingered on Naruto's Rasengan. She didn't need something that devastating, as her super strength was devastating enough, but something that could fit into her new fighting styles would be ideal. The ninjutsu book she read from the library was basically a text book. She ventured into the scroll archive, and was disappointed to find that there wasn't much available at chunnin level.

"Tsunade-sama, erm, could you give me special clearance at the library?" Sakura asked after a training session with Tsunade.

"What for?" Tsunade asked.

"To look at higher level ninjutsu scrolls." Sakura coughed, shoving the paper in front of her sensei. Tsunade raised and eyebrow but said no more, signing off on the paper with a small smile on her lips.

"There are some really good medical scrolls there, make sure to check some out." Tsunade said.

Sakura thought she had been uncomfortable handing Tsunade the permission slip, she practically turned red handing the slip to the guards outside the jonin level scrolls. They exchanged several looks but allowed her to go in. She nearly fainted at all of the information, some of the scrolls were so old they had begun to mold, or the text was barely eligible. Her goal was to learn three complex ninjutsu. The first she picked out summoned sakura petals made out of chakra, that acted as a shield, and if commanded, would attack an opponent like a swarm of hornets. It only took her several attempts and she had it down, wondering why it was considered jonin level.

The second ninjutsu created a barrier over a person, and she decided it would come in handy when on missions, so she could shield herself and her patient from harm while she worked. The last and most difficult of the three to perform was supposed to cover the user from head to toe in chakra, essentially one became their chakra, and it allowed for you to move with blinding speeds and enhanced strength, any attack would pass right through you. Sakura had to break several seals on the scroll and she feared she had broken several laws as well as she did so. It was useless anyway, she hadn't managed to perform the ninjutsu at all, the closest she had gotten was turning her hands blue for five seconds before they flickered back to normal.

She also checked out a few more medical scrolls, learning only a few new abilities but she already knew most of it all.

After the span of four months, Sakura checked off only one-third of her list. She sighed deeply, even the parts she managed to check off she hadn't completely mastered. She tossed her list angrily at the wall, wishing she had been born like Naruto with the ability to master any technique given to him. Then she remembered Lee's plight, who valued determination and dedication over talent and natural ability.

Summer arrived and before the pinkette knew it, Naruto's arrival back home was upon hand. She woke up on the fateful day, she didn't feel any different than yesterday, or the countless days before that. A part of her was bitter at Naruto for up and leaving her during a vulnerable time in her life, but she knew she had holed herself away from everyone. Everyone. She groaned as she knew this would turn into one big giant reunion.

She shuffled into her bathroom and unleashed her hair from it's hold, and an untangled mess unfolded before her. Not in the mood at all to brush and straighten it, she armed herself with a pair of scissors and after a few minutes, her hair rest shortly below her ears. She used her headband to pull her bangs out of her face again, not really caring how big her forehead looked anymore. She changed into a clean black tank top with the Haruno clan symbol on it's back, wearing a short version of the chunin vest unbuttoned on top. She pulled on light black shorts and her opened toed boots as opposed to the boots she had worn for winter which had been heavy. Lastly she pulled her gloves on and snapped a medical skirt around her waist. She armed herself with her special kunai and shuriken, and strapped her sword on her back.

'Jonin, here we come.' Dark-Sakura spoke up. Her pride was still injured from the defeat, but Sakura could sense she was making a comeback.

The day was bright and obnoxious in Sakura's opinion as she made her way to the Hokage tower. She grumbled as she thought about the reunion with everyone. She had dug her own grave on that part, though. As she reached the market place she planned to start hopping on the rooftops since it was shorter.

"Sakura! I know you can hear me so don't run away!" Ino's voice called.

'Dammit. Kill her. Quickly.' Dark-Sakura cursed. Sakura slowly turned around to see Ino running toward her dragging Choji.

"Hi, Ino-pig." Sakura smiled.

"Forehead! Wow, cool sword." Ino smiled, then narrowed her eyes at Choji who was stuffing his face with a bag of chips.

"Where's Shikamaru?" Sakura asked.

"Oh, him? Off with some Sand-slut." Ino huffed, and Sakura didn't have to be a genius to guess she was talking about Temari.

"Why is Temari here?" Sakura questioned, but she was drowned out by the loudest yell she had ever heard. Everyone turned to see where the ungodly noise came from, an orange and black blur shot through the streets, and Sakura saw the white haired Sanin in the distance with binoculars. The blur haulted in front of Sakura, and she stepped back a bit, taking in the grinning image of Naruto.

"Sakura-chan!" He yelled happily.

"Wow, Naruto, you've changed." Sakura smiled, when he had left she had been taller than him, now he was at least a head taller than her.

"Thanks! I just got back, Pervy-sage was spying on women when we saw you!" He exclaimed.

"Hasn't Sakura changed?" Ino leaned in, smiling widely and Sakura wanted nothing more than to punch her face.

"Not at all!" Naruto said innocently and Sakura deflated just a bit. Ino's eyes widened and she started to laugh. Naruto looked to Choji who just shrugged at thw two girls reactions.

"Erm, any way, would you like to go say hi to Tsunade?" Sakura asked. Naruto agreed, but Ino and Choji had to go find Shikamaru and Jiraiya accompanied to two to the Hokage Tower.

* * *

><p><strong>TL;DR <strong>sakura learns two new fighting styles and how to fight with a sword, some metaphorical stuff about her fighting her dark side and beating her 'for now', naruto returned, blah blah blah

bak si lum is another name for the northern shaolin fighting style, im not very knowledgeable on them so i just googled martial arts x\

i could have gone on and covered kakashi's bell test and etc before they leave for suna, but i think you have read enough for one chapter.

yes, those who read how the story originally panned out youll notice a big difference, but it will eventually have her becoming a hunter nin again


	3. To be Underestimated

The group was largely quiet while making their journey to the Hokage Tower, save for Naruto who was rambling on about his misadventures while abroad. Sakura had to admit, she was jealous. She had spent two and a half years toiling away in training and shifts and the hospital, only to gain a little shred of strength while Naruto had run around the globe occasionally training and growing stronger ten fold.

"So, did you do anything crazy?" Naruto asked Sakura then. The pinkette was aware of Jiraiya listening keenly.

"Oh, not really. I was busy with training and serving Tsunade-sama mostly." Sakura said. No point in lying. She sighed inwardly, wishing she had done something reckless and stupid during the two year gap, something a regular teenager and human being would do.

'Stop your moaning.' Dark-Sakura spat, reeling back by the feeling to wasted time and lonely nights that was washing over Sakura.

"Same old Sakura-chan!" Naruto said. Sakura narrowed her eyes at him and Jiraiya scooted away from the group, returning to spying for any attractive woman that passed. They entered the tower and got past the front desk with Sakura's clearance, and stood in front of Tsunade's desk minutes later. Before Sakura could even grasp the door nob, it flew open and Naruto flashed inside, bellowing 'Tsunade-baa-chan' as loud as he could.

Sakura slunk in after him followed by Jiraiya, a sheepish look on her face as the two began their familiar banter. Sakura noticed Shikamaru and Temari's presence and nodded to them who nodded back. Did Shikamaru know Ino was currently trying to hunt him down.

"Ino-pig is looking for you, Shikamaru-san." Sakura spoke up and the Nara let out a long sigh and Temari gave him a quizzical look. Naruto noticed their presence and jumped, then tactfully asked who Temari was and if she was Shikamaru's girlfriend.

"As I was saying, Sakura, I have a mission for you. Travel back to Suna with Temari and Shikamaru, Kankuro has been injured in a fight with one of the Akatsuki members that was trying to take Gaara, he's been poisoned and you'll need to treat him as such.

"We have him on life support." Temari spoke up over Naruto, who shut up really quickly.

"Hey, what about me?" Naruto whined.

"You just got back to the village, Naruto." Tsunade frowned.

"Aww, man." Naruto seemed to deflate.

"Don't worry Naruto, I wont be gone long, when I come back I'll go get ramen with you." Sakura offered and at once he was back to normal, bouncing across the room. He even high fived Jiraiya.

Before Kakashi could arrive Sakura excused herself from the room on an excuse that she was going to go get her things ready for the mission. She was looking forward to the possibility of using her new set of kunai and shuriken, which had sat unused and unopened in her room from the box she bought it in, as well as her sword, even though this was a medical mission.

Ten minutes later, her medical scrolls on poisoning and poisons were strapped to her side, as well as ingredients for antidotes. She filled a back pack with extra close and slung it around her shoulders. There was a sharp tap at her window and she whirled around, Naruto smiled widely at her, waving, and Kakashi sat on the balcony edge, nose deep in porn.

"You guys, I have a mission." Sakura frowned after she opened her door.

"Sorry Sakura, but you're not getting out of this." Kakashi said lazily, and she noticed the slight crinkle in his eye as he smiled.

* * *

><p>A heart beat under Sakura's ear, and she let out a slow and steady breath. She straightened up, turning to Temari, worry etched all over the woman's face.<p>

"He'll be just fine. I managed to extract the poision, he should wake up in the next few hours." Sakura explained and Temari let out her inhaled breath, smiling lightly.

"Thank you, Sakura." She said. Sakura smiled back, it was just her job.

As the sun made its way across the sky, the pinkette sat on top of an adobe, she had admired the architecture of the Village Hidden in the Sand, the buildings drastically different from the ones back at home. Some of the more modern buildings resembled them, but for the most part, everything was either brown or a variant of red.

'Here I am when I should be training, stuck in a foreign village.' She grumbled, swinging her feet below. Slowly she realised her words and almost hit herself, while Dark-Sakura was rolling around laughing at her own stupidity. 'Duh! I'm in a foreign village! I bet there is loads of techniques I could learn here!' She almost fell off of the building. Her dilemma was were to look for a teacher, possible that Chiyo woman, but Sakura wasn't very keen toward the woman. Maybe Temari could teach her a few things? Deciding it couldn't hurt to ask, Sakura asked later that day when she had to check up on Kankuro.

"Hm...sure, I'll teach you a few things, but in turn, you have to teach our medics here a few things, we don't have the best medical care, if you haven't noticed." Temari began to rant. Sakura decided it was a fair trade, and was surprised to find the state the Suna hospital really was in when she began her inspection. It was unacceptable, and she took it as a personal insult, and began whipping everyone into shape.

Kankuro woke up on schedule with a case of extreme cotton mouth, moaning and groaning like a baby for water. Of course he had to make a hot nurse joke at Sakura when she came in to check on him, which resulted in a slap and a severe telling off by Temari. Sakura just blushed and laughed, Kankuro was actually pretty attractive under all that black and face paint.

Realizing she wouldn't arrive home by the end of the week, Sakura sent a message back home of her deal with Temari, Tsunade-sama would understand.

"First things first, you need to figure out your element." Temari said when they first meet for a training session.

"Element?" Sakura frowned.

"Yes! I got a few scrolls for it, just channel your chakra into them and after a while a symbol may appear and we'll know your element." Temari said, handing the Haruno ninja a small thick scroll. Half an hour later, the symbol for wind appeared before their eyes on the paper. "A Leaf nin with the wind element, not very common. Good thing your currently in the wind country!" Temari laughed at her own joke and Sakura raised an eye brow. It really was good luck. The female sand sibling was already accomplished with her wind element, and spent most of the time showing Sakura the basics. By the end, the pinkette was able to conjure a small ball of wind. Temari sent Sakura to the library with her special clearance to study several wind scrolls there in her spare time.

Sakura stood in the very cold building later that night, in the restricted section for jonin only. She already found the wind scrolls and several extra that she had been sent to find, the library surprisingly devoid of guards, instead chakra barriers separated the various rooms. She had passed through them, her immense amount and storage of chakra must have fooled the barriers, she didn't spend much time dwelling on it though, just thankful that she had gotten past them.

Unlike in Konoha, the storage of the jonin scrolls was much better, the old scrolls kept in pristine condition. Scanning key words in the descriptions, Sakura snatched at a few scrolls and stuffed them in her vest's pockets before making her escape. She unfurled the wind scrolls, soaking in their information quickly. She was always good at memorizing texts and theories. Again, her problem was putting them into practice. After three hours of studying the wind scrolls, she began to read the ones she snatched.

The first one was a genjutsu scroll, a special method native only to Suna. Sakura was floored, she just hit the jackpot. But she hadn't started her personal study of genjutsu, and set to copying the scroll on a blank one to take home for later. The second one was a taijutsu style that utilized hiding behind objects and projectiles to keep your enemy as far away as possible. Sakura had Tsunade's taijutsu for that, and tossed it aside. The third one had two seals stamped on it, and Sakura rolled her eyes, breaking them easily.

'A study of the Black Monk fighting style, native to the Fire Nation.' Sakura's breath caught, and she had to re-read that sentence again. Leave it to Suna to scribe down a potentially dangerous and illegal fighting style. The book she had gotten on the Black Monks turned up nothing, just their odd religion and pessimistic view of the world. The scroll had an in-depth description of the fighting style, including various jutsu's to fit inside it. Her eyes bagan to droop and it must have been late into the night when she retired, tucking the two precious scrolls into her vest pocket.

In only three days the hospital was a well oiled machine, and Sakura watched with her arms crossed and her ego inflating at her work. She had taken to the wind training easily, incorporating her element into her punches and kicks for more devastation, even in her sword fighting it proved deadly. Temari said it would take a few years to master the element and gave her several references for teachers back in the Leaf.

Sakura left three weeks after her arrival, she had grown used to the constant feeling of sand in between her toes and ingrained on her close. As she left the city gates, waving goodbye to the sand siblings who had been kind to her during her stay, and patted several of the scrolls she had taken from the library. Most were copies except for the one about the Black Monks, she hadn't found time to copy it and was not about to just pass up the opportunity to study it.

She passed two figures in black cloaks, red clouds splashed here and there. One of the men tipped his hat at her and she nodded to them with a slight smile, but in her gut she knew something was wrong.

* * *

><p>"You'd make a good puppet." The red head's voice drawled as Sakura dodged a poison laced attack. "Not great, but good." He added as if that would hurt her feelings. Chiyo maneuvered Sakura away from another attack, and a well aimed punch enhanced by wind blew a hole through the puppet's chest.<p>

"Would you like to know how I make my puppets?" Sasori asked.

"No." Sakura responded coldly, cracking her knuckles. The puppet master titled his head and a light smile played at his lips. Sakura was running out of time, each second she spent being toyed with by Sasori, each second Gaara was loosing his grip on life. A set of puppets replaced the one she destroyed, and she suppressed a groan. He had an army at his disposal, and could easily unleash each of them at once to grind Sakura to dust. He was probably toying with her like this because he was bored. She gritted her teeth, he wasn't taking her seriously as an opponent, not even with Chiyo on her side. Oh how he'd regret that.

'Let me deal with him, please? I want to see blood pour from his mouth like a fountain.' Dark-Sakura pleaded, clapping her hands together. Sakura was gritting her teeth so hard it was surprising none of them had cracked. She assumed the Tai Chi Chaum stance, blocking and dodging the onslaught of attacks.

"Oh, so you are more than just a punching machine." Sasori said, a little interest filled his words. It happened in slow motion, the first puppet lunged at her, Sasori must have thought he saw a weakness in her defense, and she had to suppress a little smile as she watched it come at her. Chiyo pulled at the strings to make her move, but Sakura was standing still.

"Move, girlie!" Chiyo barked, fear for Sakura's life echoed across the cave. Sakura's feet had been placed far apart, her left foot in front. Her knee curled it upward and close to her chest, and like a viper, her foot connected with the puppet's chest with blinding speed, and her right fist landed against it in the interval between being hit and falling back.

A large crack blossomed out from the area she struck, but the puppet was largely still whole, and it fell back from the attack. Sakura ducked from the side swipe from the other puppet, spinning around to chop at the puppet's neck with her flat extended palm, driving it into the dirt. A triumphant smirk broke out across her face at the cold fury in Sasori's eyes from being fooled.

He called his puppets back and stepped forward himself, and Sakura was not going to lie about the feeling of fear that swept through her. He removed his cloak, were skin and flesh should have been, there was instead plastic and wood. Sasori was a puppet. Chiyo gasped as Sasori laughed, going into explain his transformation. Sakura was glad for his momentary distraction, because she was frozen to the spot, panicking about the prospect of having to fight an Akatsuki member alone.

'You're not alone! You have me! Let me fight!' Dark-Sakura begged. Sakura nodded and felt her fear melt away to cold indifference. She became detached from herself, analyzing the situation and her opponent. 'Strong defense, he utilizes poisons in his blades with an equal offense. He has seen your defense and is wary of a direct attack. Also has seen your offense using Tsunade's style.' A raspy voice recited in her head. Her hands moved and sakura petals made from chakra circled around the pinkette's feet, her short hair lifted at the ends as she stared her opponent down.

'You don't want to die, but you're scared to take a life.' Dark-Sakura had once said to Sakura during training. 'Prepare to take your first life, and an Akatsuki member to boot.' She smirked, her eyes twinkled at the idea. Her right hand slowly rose and drew out her sword, her hand twirled as she assumed the long sword position. When she raised her left hand to complete it, Sasori attacked.

What looked like blood stained Sakura's shirt and thinly ribboned along her sword, it was in fact poison that could take down several full grown men. Sasori's dying body was crumpled under her after their fierce battle, and Sakura began to shake as Dark-Sakura returned to the corner of her mind she seemed to be bound in, the realization of who she had killed dawned over her. Her sword clattered to the ground as she crouched down to her Sasori's final breaths.

"You're from Konoha right? Your Hokage will want to hear this." He whispered. Sakura's eyes widened as she took in what he said next. His last sight was the shocked look on Sakura's face and the puppets of his parents embracing him. Dark-Sakura must have still had a little control of Sakura as she reached forward to slip off his ring and pocket it with a malicious smile.

"We have to move on. I fear for Gaara." Chiyo spoke up, and Sakura nodded and picked up her sword, leaving the red headed puppet master's body.

"Well, Sakura, you have saved two of my brothers." Temari shook her head later as they waited in the hospital. It was night time out, and Gaara was lying asleep on a bed.

"It wasn't me that saved Gaara." Sakura said softly, her eyes drifting to a figure on a bed opposite Gaara's, a blankets pulled over to hide the body of Chiyo.

"Her sacrifice will not be in vain. Are you sure you don't need any treatment? You did take down an Akatsuki." Temari asked.

"No. I need to get back to Konoha ASAP, something important has happened." Sakura said. Temari nodded and Sakura left once more.

This journey back to Konoha was much shorter than the trip to Suna, since Sakura already knew the path and did not need to be guided there. It took her two days of nonstop travel to make it within the forest that surrounded her native village. She stopped to sleep on the second night, her eye drooped heavily and she knew if she kept going she'd probably pass out mid jump and fall to the ground and shatter.

She slept on a bed of moss and woke up with a bug crawling through her hair. She picked it out and flicked it away, disgusted but she kept moving. It was an early morning when she arrived at the Hokage Tower, only around five or so. The secretary hadn't even arrived and Sakura marched up to Tsunade's office.

"Tsunade-sama, I'm back." Sakura announced as she flung the door open. The blonde haired woman was at her desk half awake chipping at her endless tower of paper work.

"Sakura, you look a wreck, did you sleep in a pile of dirt?" Tsunade rubbed at her tired eyes.

"Sort of. But I need to file my report, and I need to tell you something important." Sakura said, impatient with her teacher's slowness in the morning.

"Yeah, yeah." Tsunade waved her arm and Sakura sat down, giving her breathless account of the mission. Tsunade almost interrupted when Sakura got to the part about finding the Akatsuki in Suna and Chiyo's sacrifice to save Gaara. The look on Sakura's face kept Tsunade from talking, and she repeated the words Sasori transferred to her before he died. The room was silent after Sakura spoke, and she eagerly awaited for Tsunade to say something.

"Alright. Your mission was successful. I want you to go home and get some rest. Come back afterward, okay?" Tsunade said.

"But-" Sakura began to protest but she knew it wouldn't do any good. Sakura nodded, and departed for home. She was never so happy to see her own bed as she collapsed on the familiar mattress. She awoke after having a weird dream, but really couldn't remember it when she began to think about it. Her muscles aced from being still for so long, and she took a shower to unlock them. Changing into black sweatpants and a black tank top she often used to train in, she pulled her hair into a small nub of a pony tail and bounded down the steps.

She froze in her tracks, because a man was sitting at her table petting the house hold cat. She blinked a few times and he looked up, smiling at her.

"Ah, you have finally woken up. You slept through an entire day." He said, scratching the cat behind the ears who began to purr deeply.

"Who are you?" Sakura narrowed her eyes, unsure if he was a ninja or not. He wore samurai armor and close underneath, his skin was pale with a yellow tint to it as if he had liver problems, or perhaps he had a natural olive skin tone and did not get much sun. He had a large chakra system, the energy seemed to seep through him like mud.

"I doubt you know me." He waved it off. "Imagine my surprise when I was going through the Hokage's bingo book when I saw that some one on it was dead. By the hands of a chuunin kunoichi." He said lightly, as if enjoying a humorous joke. Sakura shifted on her feet and crossed her arms, this man must be a high ranking ninja to have access to the bingo books. Sakura had glimpsed through it once, when she was going through Tsunade's files and organizing them for her.

"I had help." Sakura mumbled, remembering Chiyo who had guided Sakura out of numerous life ending attacks.

"Humility, you must not be used to being praised for your strengths." He smiled once more, and it creeped Sakura out to no end, but he wasn't wrong. Sakura had always been praised on her 'blooming beauty' or a variation of those words. Never once had Naruto or Kakashi patted her on the back for a mission well done, always a remark on her looks.

"Look, what do you want?" Sakura asked, eager for this stranger to leave so she could head over to the Hokage Tower.

"Do you always want to be just a medic?" He asked lightly, and Sakura gritted her teeth. Sakura shook her head no slowly, her goal to become a powerful hunter nin hadn't been completely forgotten, just put aside so she could build up her weaknesses to strengths. "I did not think so." He said and stood up, the cat meowed at him but he ignored it. "Come to us only when you are ready." He said and handed her a small card. She took it and turned it over, it was blank. When she looked up, he was gone.

* * *

><p>The dummy lay in a mess of ripped cloth and scattered stuffing. Sakura looked down at her hands which felt limp and numb. The nerves in the tips of her fingers ached, and her chakra began to flow away from her fingers and to the rest of her body.<p>

"Holy crap." She whispered to herself, she did not know that attack would do so much damage, and it was only just a move for basic defense! She picked the scroll back up to read if she had done it correctly and nodded, she had. The book that she had read hadn't been joking, this fighting style was violent. She kicked the remains of the dummy, kinda satisfied she had destroyed something. It was late afternoon and the sun was beginning its sink below the horizon.

Earlier that day, Tsunade had assigned Naruto with Kurenai's Team to track down Sasuke with the information Sakura had given the Hokage. She crossed her arms and walked around in a small circle. Sakura had protested to Naruto going, knowing that his emotions might get the best of him and hinder his performance in the mission. Tsunade exploded and yelled at Sakura, who stormed out of the office. She had gotten into arguments with the Hokage before, but the Hokage would always apologize for it and they'd get over it. Sakura was surprised that she blew up on Tsunade right back, and knew Dark-Sakura had momentarily lashed out.

'That old hag had it coming. We were right, and she is foolish.' Dark-Sakura grumbled.

'She is not foolish. She is the Hokage and our teacher!' Sakura said back.

'Teacher? Bah, idiots. Which teacher have you had that actually taught you anything worthwhile? All Kakashi did was teach you how to climb trees, and Tsunade just turned you into a clone of her.' Dark-Sakura growled

'I am still grateful for what they did.' Sakura replied quieter.

'Grateful for what? For wasting our time? We have a goal to achieve remember? I say we figure out what that guy was talking about.' Dark-Sakura nodded. Sakura paused in her pacing and dug into her vest pocket, pulling out Sasori's ring. She rolled it over in her hands, admiring how the sun glinted off of it's surface. Sighing she put it back in her pocket, and knew Dark-Sakura was awaiting a response. She never gave her one and continued her training.

The week Naruto and Kurenai's team was away, Sakura spent most of her time on the training grounds. Tsunade never called her to her office, and Sakura was surprised when she walked into the hospital to discover she was no longer employed there. She ignored Dark-Sakura's rant on that, since she had relied on the money from working there to buy training close and weapons and other necessary equipment. Her clearance at the library wasn't revoked, and she made several journey's there to exchange books. The librarian chatted to her about her progress and was happy to hear her report.

Ino tracked her down and made her go shopping with her. Sakura's mother was pleased to see Sakura brought home two dresses and a blouse instead of knives and black shirts. Sakura however, did not like the sight of her dwindling funds. Ino told her Tsunade would get over their fight soon enough and not to worry. Sakura could only shrug.

The Black Monk fighting style proved easy to learn, and it reminded her of a cross between how she had seen Neji and Hinata fight and the Bak Si Lum fighting style, plus something more. The jutsu's she learned to enhance it, according to the scroll, were a little bit more difficult to learn, but had them down pat on the fifth day. She decided to start genjutsu, not very interested in becoming a master at it, just better at recognizing one and breaking it. Ino helped her with that part, and in return, Sakura helped her with her medical jutsu's. On the seventh day she brushed up on her wind technique, which came back to her easily.

On the morning of Naruto's return, Sakura sat in the kitchen ignoring a bowl of cereal she had made, and slipped Sasori's ring over her thumb, the only finger that fit. She stared at it and turned it so it would catch the light.

"That's a pretty ring, did you buy it when you went shopping?" Her mother walked in, ignorant to it's true meaning since she was not a ninja.

"Erm, no. Someone gave it to me." Sakura said, slipping it back into her vest pocket. Her mother's eyes lit up and before she could question further, Sakura made up and excuse that she had to use the bathroom. Being faster than her mom had its advantages and she departed out of the door silently. She stood atop the roof of an apartment complex, leaning against it's railing. Something felt wrong, she frowned and turned her attention to the Hokage Tower. She tried to sense if anyone was inside, but kept getting interference from those below and all around.

"Sakura-chan, there you are." The quiet voice of Hinata Hyuuga broke the morning silence. Her long purple hair swayed absentmindedly in the breeze, and she smiled comfortably at the pinkette. Hinata's shyness had subsided greatly, but of course, except to Naruto.

"Hey Hinata-chan, what's up?" Sakura asked, although she already knew. Hinata had accompanied Naruto on his mission, and was just trying to be polite. They failed, and Sakura did not want to make a big deal out of it.

"We returned from the mission last night, the rest are giving a mission report to the Hokage, and she thinks you should hear this." Hinata spoke, her voice barely louder than the wind. Sakura nodded and departed with the Hyuuga, and minutes later they were standing in Tsunade's office. Naruto was sitting in a chair with his head in his hands and a few bandages here and there. Kiba was leaning against the wall, Shino stood silently next to Kiba and Kurenai stood dutifully in front of Tsunade. Kakashi was sitting on the window ledge, his hands surprisingly empty of it's familiar book.

"Alright, the audience is all here, start." Tsunade said, doodling on a scrap piece of paper, but one could tell she was attentive. Kurenai cleared her throat and began their tale. She was a very detailed speaker, sparing nothing. I pretended I wasn't surprised when she described Sasuke's attack, wishing he had revealed more of his powers so I would know what I was up against. Untimely they failed, of course they would, Sakura thought bitterly. Naruto looked up as Tsunade stamped 'failure' on their mission report and then sign it. He looked defeated for one fleeting moment, then saw that Sakura was watching him, and gave her a small smile. The corner of her mouth twitched back and then she turned her attention back to Tsunade.

She dismissed them, and Sakura left, noting how Tsunade did not look at her once. As she stepped out into the hall way, a firm hand found its way on her shoulder. She whipped around only to discover it was Kakashi.

"Erm, Sakura, may I talk with you?" He asked. Sakura nodded and the two stepped away from the group. Kiba was talking loudly, rivaling Naruto, as they left. "Sakura, are you okay?" He asked once they were all gone.

"I'm fine." Sakura said, glancing at the door to the Hokage's office. Did Tsunade put him up to this? She knew you could hear two people talking outside if you were quiet on the inside.

"Oh, erm..." Kakashi seemed uncomfortable talking to his only female student about her feelings. "Why haven't you asked Tsunade for forgiveness yet?" He asked, and Sakura narrowed her eyes and he shrunk away from her gaze.

"I've been busy."

"Fair enough, but if you ever want to talk, remember the Hokage is your teacher and all-"

"I know." Sakura said and departed in flash before Kakashi could say much more. She reappeared in front of Naruto who jumped several feet back in the street.

"S-sakura-chan?" He blinked, bewildered.

"Hey Naruto, want to get some ramen?" She asked lightly. He froze in his position for a minute, as if her words had frozen the workings of his brain. Sakura waited patiently with a small smile on her face. She didn't like him looking so sad. Naruto and sad didn't even belong in the same sentence.

"SURE!" He bellowed and passerby's stared. The entire time he sat and quizzed Sakura about her mission to Suna while inhaling bowls of ramen. He seemed genuinely impressed when she gave her account of her fight with Sasori, and Sakura did exaggerate a little to stroke her ego just a bit, forgetting to mention the presence of Chiyo. "You weren't scared?" He asked after slurping down the contents of his fifth bowl.

"A little, but I used that to keep me motivated. I remember my mind was clear and calm the entire time, almost detached." Sakura observed, her eyes misting over just a bit at the memory of Dark-Sakura's cold control. Naruto just nodded, and he looked lost in his thoughts as well. After a few silent minutes he began to talk about his mission, his hands shook when he got to parts about his failure or when Hinata was put in danger. "Naruto, it's not your fault that you weren't fast enough or strong enough. You did your best." Sakura patted his hand and he tried to hide his glee at her action.

"I know, but my best wasn't good enough. I'm going to train until I can't stand so next time he'll be begging to come back!" Naruto declared, fire set into his eyes once more. "Tsunade-baa-chan was also talking about putting our team back together, we'd have a new member though. Wont that be great, going on missions again?" He beamed at her and Sakura smiled back, uttering a small yeah. Naruto was totally unaware of how unlikely that dream was. Afterward Sakura pitched in to pay for most of the meal, not caring that now she was only down to a hundred coins. The cook winked at Naruto who blushed slightly and Sakura pretended she hadn't seen the transaction, and they walked home together. He said goodbye happily and left, no longer down.

Sakura stood at the gate to her house for a while afterward, staring at the place he had turned around. Was he truly happy, or just hiding how sad he was? She shook her head, deciding it was best not to dwell on it. He was his own person and could handle it.

Her parents were still at work when she stepped inside her house, shocked to find that it was almost two in the afternoon. She went up to her room to find her spare training set of kunai's, the Black Monk Scroll already tucked in her pocket. A small blank card was sitting on her desk and she paused, picking it up. It was the card that man had given her in her kitchen only a few days ago.

'Do you remember the day Naruto came back from the first retrieval mission, with out Sasuke? Wasn't that suffering so lovely?' Dark-Sakura smiled at the faint memory of the pain.

'Come to us only when you are ready.' He had said. Sakura weighed her options. She could train by herself, probably learning many of the positions wrong due to the lack of a teacher and over all growth slow. Or she could check out what this guy wanted.

'Are you willing to sell your everything to obtain the power needed? Like Sasuke?' Dark-Sakura leaned her head back at Sakura. Sakura closed her eyes, not focusing on the blasted field even though she saw a small glimpse of it. She channeled her chakra into the card for a brief second and opened her eyes. On the card was a network of lines. She watched as one of the lines faintly snaked blue, and she realized it was a map. The words, you are ready, bloomed out on the top of the card and she watched, memorizing the path when the map and its words disappeared. The card then exploded in flames and Sakura dropped it in shock. Before she could stomp the flames out, the card and its ashes were gone.

Later that night, Sakura would seek out the end to that map.

* * *

><p>sorry for farting around once more to update, i wanted to update a week ago, but I got stuck at the fight scene between sakura and tsunade, so i decided to glimpse over it. ill include it in the next chapter as a flash back<p>

for those who read my second attempt at a rewrite, hopefully you remember that she grew distant from her friends which is beginning to start now, well i shouldnt have to explain because hopefully you read it and understand lol

im not good at fighting scenes, sorry _

review? =3


	4. A Faceless Spirit

Sakura did not know what to expect when she followed the path. Moonlight spilled over the village and provided her light. The map led out beyond the gates of Konoha, through a secrete passage she did not know existed. Dark-Sakura was silent during her lone pilgrimage, and the stillness of the forest only made Sakura on edge. Her hand brushed against her kunai pouch several times and her eyes darted around. Sasori's ring, which she had attached to a small silver chain necklace, jingled in tune with her footsteps. She broke through the brush and out into a hill that overlooked the village some distance away. She had traveled at least two hours now, and there was no turning back.

She began the hike up the rest of the hill, and strained her ears for familiar forest sounds. The woods here were thick and the trees grew in a tight not together, so this woods was probably hundreds of years old, if not thousands. She recognized a leveling in the hill and her back prickled as if eyes were watching her. She looked around and scanned the area, she was all alone. Her breaths cut through the air, and she fingered the ring for comfort, a habit she was beginning to develop in place of running her hands through her hair.

She fought her way through the brush, and stumbled into a clearing. A large black building was before her, and she did not know what to make of it. It wasn't gothic in nature nor was it victorian, a blend of the two with modern touches. It reminded her of a fat shiny beetle in the night and she shivered. Should she just walk up to it and knock? Swallowing down a dry sob from fear, she walked cautiously and slowly toward the door. Before she could reach it, a figure materialized in front of her. It was a Konoha ninja, who wore an anbu mask and cloak. Except, their mask did not take the form of an animal, nor did it have the designs of a hunter nin. It was bright white and flat with no details what so ever, just small slits to see through. Sakura was reminded of a ghost at the sight of its billowing cloak that blended into the night.

"Are you the Haruno?" The voice demanded, and Sakura nodded. The figure was silent for a minute before moving aside and opening the door. "This way." They said, motioning with their hand for the pinkette to follow. It took a moment for Sakura to unglue her feet from where she stood and she entered the beetle black fortress.

For the rest of Konoha, the day started bright and early. It was a quiet Monday, business men shuffled reluctantly to work and far off the guards stationed at the city walls were changing shifts. Tsunade was awake, ignoring her paperwork and even a bottle of brandy on her desk. Shizune had yet to arrive for work and the hazel eyed woman was left to contemplate things on her on. The door opened, and for a second Tsunade thought it had opened on its own accord, but when she turned she saw a person stood waiting patiently in her office. It was a Hunter nin, and the Hokage narrowed her eyes after recognizing the mask. This hunter was of Yusei's command, a special force dedicated to gathering information on organizations like the Akatsuki and bringing them down if they posed a threat to Konoha. They weren't shrouded in mystery like Root, as Yusei still had to answer to the Hokage, he just rarely did. Unlike Root, most of the civilians were aware of the groups presence and did not trust the ninja's with no faces and wore cloaks like shadows.

"Erm, what is it?" Tsunade cleared her throat.

"Yusei has sent me to inform you that he has found a new recruit." The Hunter said, their voice muffled from the mask so it was impossible to distinguish gender, and the large baggy cloak did not help either. When a ninja joined Yusei's Hunter squad, they were legally declared dead according to the village of Konoha. When they actually did die, more than likely from combat or wear and tare, the ninja's identity would be revealed and given a proper burial. That is if the family of the deceased wanted to.

"Oh really? What, that's up to eight now?" Tsunade asked, musing it over. The members of Yusei's Hunters were often the brunt of jokes at get together's were a substantial ninja population attended, as those who joined were either suicidal or freaks. Mostly both.

"Seven, one died a month ago. We sent you a report on the individual and their tasks when they were apart of our team." The ninja said, keeping a tone of swift business.

"Yes, yes. Now, who is it?" Tsunade asked so she could set to filling the appropriate paper work.

"Sakura Haruno."

It was noon and people did not know what to make of it. One second, the side of the Hokage Tower was intact, the next, there was a large gaping hole in it from where the Hokage had directed her fury. Construction workers arrived scratching their heads at the story which had swept across the village like wild fire. The pink haired apprentice of Tsunade, well respected and admired in the village by kunoichi and shinobi alike, had joined Yusei's Hunters.

Kakashi knew where he had been when he first heard it, page three hundred and seventy eight in his favorite orange book. He had been perched on a railing on a bridge in the park to enjoy the nice weather, when Ino came running up to him, anger and shock mixed in her expression as she rounded on the silver haire jonin.

"It's not true is it?" She shrieked, crossing her arms. Kakashi froze for a moment, because he had forgotten the girls name, but he knew she was good friends with his female pupil.

"I'm sorry, but I do not know what you are talking about." Kakashi said and flipped the page to the exact one.

"That Sakura's joined Yusei's Hunters!" Ino said with all of her fury, and for the first time, Kakashi almost dropped his book. Almost.

Nartuo, however, did not get what all the fuss was about.

"Does this mean she's higher rank than me?" Naruto groaned, as he was still a genin.

"Do you even know what we're talking about?" Kakashi asked and Naruto shook his head vigorously no. After Kakashi explained, Naruto still did not see why everyone was freaking out.

"WAIT! So does this mean she's no longer apart of team seven?" Naruto asked when Ino lunged at him.

Before all this happened from Sakura's actions, she was sitting in Yusei's office. She had learned his name after he introduced himself, leaving out his last name. The room was small and square, and what looked like a large window was behind him that played scenes of tropical weather, the lights in his office were bright and it seemed out of place for him. He leaned back in his chair and entwined his hands, a picture of ease.

"Now, we are in a safe place to talk about my proposal." He said. He was silent and stared off into space for a few minutes. "We are a special group of Hunters, a small portion. The best of the best, if you will. Normal Hunters chase down rogue ninja's from d-rank and up, and occasionally dangerous crime lords and what have you. Usually, to join my group you must have been a hunter for two years and have served in anbu for at least a year." He set to explaining, and Sakura sat listening with heavy eyes. She had only gotten five hours of sleep last night, and her body wasn't used to going without sleep for very long. "Most of the ninja's in the village are super-powered fighting machines from generations of war. The real version of the ninja has been forgotten, except with the Hunters. I take it you are familiar with the founding of Konoha?" He asked and the green eyed girl nodded, wondering where he was going with this. "You have great potential, Haruno, but that potential has been ignored for your team mates whose abilities come naturally, not obtained through hard work. We have noticed that you began training on your own three years ago and have made great progress, to the point where you can fight and defeat an Akatsuki member." He said, and Sakura was starting to get the gist of what he was saying. "Haruno, to join my team means that you must not be afraid to die, or to take a life. The village may hate you for they do not understand you, even if you fight to make sure it still stands. I have decided to make an acception for you, and will allow you to join without the required experience, for you have already proven yourself worthy." He continued on.

The office was silent as Yusei waited for Sakura to say something, but she was lost in her own thoughts. She kept waiting for Dark-Sakura to say something, as she was used to the characters commentary now and had begun to rely on it to make decisions. But the twisted version of the Haruno had nothing to say, and only shrugged. Yusei was basically offering her the strength she had been seeking for the past three years and hardly obtained, so one day she might get a chance to repeat those two words to Sasuke as blood poured from his throat.

She blinked at that mental image and knew why Dark-Sakura was so quiet, because the specter was beginning to latch onto Sakura's conscious, no longer bound to her sub-conscious ramblings. Maybe it had been foolish to allow the split personally to take over when Sasori was attacking her, but it had been a matter of life and death, and from the sound of what she was about to get herself into, life and death would always be teetering on a balance together from now on. Sakura then decided that she really didn't care.

"Alright, I'll take you up on your offer." Sakura said, her words did not come out as a poetic speech like Yusei's or heartfelt like Naruto's. Short and to the point.

"Good, let us start the proper paper work." He smiled, shuffling through a cabinet near his desk merrily. Another Hunter appeared, their hood down to reveal short sheared brown hair and Sakura frowned as she could not make out the persons gender. The Hunter waited while Yusei and Sakura went over the paperwork and he helped her fill it out. After an hour she was finished and he handed copies to the Hunter to give to the Hokage for clearance. "Now, go back home and rest, when the paperwork is cleared I'll send for you and you will come here to begin you induction training." He explained and Sakura nodded. She was escorted out of their base by the silent Hunter who did not seem to walk but ghost across the floor.

She had to shield her eyes from the sun when she emerged, it seemed to be glaring at her from all angles, but the Hunter kept going until they melted into the forest in front of her. Sakura blinked, used to the light again and followed. The walk back to Konoha was shorter, as she was no longer fighting uphill through densely grown trees. Her room did not look the same when she crawled through her room, pulling her sword over her head and resting it against the wall and disarming herself before slinging her vest over the back of her chair. Sleep took her immediately when she hit her bed.

_Her eyes opened and she was soaring through the air on the back of a large bird. Sakura sat up and glanced below her, Konoha was at least two hundred feet below her and her heart jumped up into her throat. The bird let out a large squawk, and she recognized it as the call of the Vulture. It took her a moment to realize that a figure was standing across from her on the bird with their arms crossed. It was Dark-Sakura who looked more solid than before when she emerged from the field. Her hair was blood red instead of bright pink and her eyes were a dulled and darken green from the dark bags that surrounded her eyes. _

_"Did you summon this vulture?" Sakura asked as the wind battered them as the bird circled the village. _

_"Yes." Dark-Sakura spoke, leering at her from behind her crossed arms. Sakura stood up shakily, but found that the bird was sturdy. "I got tired of the field, and decided I'd come see this village of yours. Pretty pathetic if you ask me. It should be ground to dust." Dark-Sakura spoke, her voice cut through the air sharply._

_"I am a protector of this village and as long as you hold my name, so are you." Sakura growled and Dark-Sakura raised a pencil thin eyebrow._

_"If you say so, but remember, nothing is permanent. No matter how many super powered freaks you have guarding this village, you could have an army of Naruto's guarding it, and trust me, eventually, this village would fall." She spoke as if she had ventured into the future to glimpse the destruction and wept at it not in sadness but in wonder. "Death applies to everything." She murmured then and the vulture let out another cry._

_"I won't see it in my life time." Sakura said hardly and Dark-Sakura smiled widely and she shivered at this sight. _

_"I want to make a deal with you, Sakura." She said then and the dreaming girl nodded. "You want to kill Sasuke, make him pay for what he was done. You haven't thought about it, but I know there's a part of you even more twisted than me that resides in the real world, calling for Sasuke's life." She spoke, her hair bristled out in the wind. "I can appease this blood lust for you so you may rest in peace, all I ask for in return is that you accept me, let me join you as one, I wish to see the world not through the visions and observations of your thoughts, but through real wide eyes." Dark-Sakura spoke, her voice filled with emotion. Sakura processed this girls request._

_"You will kill Sasuke for me if I let you take control?" Sakura asked._

_"Not take control, more like, become your dominant personality. You'll need me anyway, for what you are about to get yourself into." She said, watching the pinkette warily. Sakura narrowed her eyes at the girl, wondering if she could trust this cold woman. She had spoken of the destruction of her village as if was a glorious future, not a terrifying thing to prevent. Would she harm her other friends as well, if they got in the way? Sakura already knew the answers to all of the questions brewing in her head, but her warped self was right, there was a darker version of Sakura kept under wraps that reveled in her anger, while Dark-Sakura bathed in her misery. _

_"Alright. It's deal." Sakura decided and her other half smiled again, her hair lifted off her shoulders lightly as her eyes pierced through the distance._

_"Good." She spoke and with a large force, Sakura found herself being thrown from the vulture, tumbling below toward the ground. She fell head over heals watching the large outline of the vulture grow smaller and smaller, and the ground grew closer and closer, the wind ripping past her as she descended. She was about to slam into the ground and shatter into a million pieces when she let out a scream that could break glass._

She bolted upright, her chest heaving and her skin covered in a thin coat of sweat. Her blankets were entangled around her legs and she fought to get out of them and made her way to the bathroom. One quick rinse later, she was dressed in fresh close, a red tank top for a change and black pants with the same boots, pulling her vest back on and arming herself once more. She clasped her necklace around her neck, and pulled her head back away from her forehead to keep her bangs out of her face, not caring if her forehead glistened like the sun. She jumped a little when she saw the time, almost three in the afternoon.

"Sakura, are you awake?" Her mom called from downstairs as Sakura grabbed her sword.

"No." Sakura replied, feeling witty. She heard a muffled laugh and narrowed her eyes, her mother would have rolled her eyes at the teenagers remark, and if her father laughed her would have let out a loud snort like laugh, but he had to work today.

"You're friends are here!" Her mother said then, and did not sound the least bit thrilled about it. Probably because they were deadly ninja's who had taken lives before and not normal teenagers who went to the movies and gossiped about boys.

Sakura slowly made her way downstairs and stopped at the foot of the steps. She had expected just Naruto and Kakashi, maybe Ino, but Hinata, Tenten, Shikamaru, Lee, and Neji had showed up. She heard a dog bark outside and saw Kiba flash by the window chasing Akamaru with Shino and Choji watching. Her eyes roved over all of them who watched her silently.

'Look at their pathetic faces.' She sneered inwardly, and knew Dark-Sakura's influence had increased tenfold. If Sakura had said so, told them she was loosing herself right then, they all would have helped her and taken her to a place were she would get better and the path of history may have been drastically different. But she kept her lips shut.

"Sakura! Your not gonna be apart of Team Seven anymore!" Naruto broke the silence and she jumped back, his volume always unpredictable.

"Erm, I guess." Sakura said, fingering the ring that rest at the end of her necklace. Kakashi's eyes darted to this movement but his face remained unreadable.

"We were sent here by Tsunade to talk you out of joining Yusei's Hunters." Neji said, obviously annoyed by this task. Sakura had always respected Neji as a comrade, he understood the need to get stronger to prove yourself to those who wrote you out of interest. She nodded at him, at least someone wasn't trying to make her decisions for her.

"Well, I'll tell her you guys made an amazing effort, but I'm not going to change my mind." Sakura crossed her arms like she had seen Dark-Sakura do it in her vision.

"Oh the bloom of youth!" Lee burst out louder than Naruto that he made the entire room jolt. He began to cry dramatically and Tenten looked uncomfortable standing next to him.

"Thanks everyone for your concern, but I've got this. I'll be fine." Sakura said, dropping her arms to her side, hoping she could convince them not to worry. Ino was strangely silent and avoided eye contact with her friend and kept elbowing Shikamaru to say something but he would just sigh, obviously irritated. "Besides, I'll still be considered a rookie there, they wont send me out on dangerous missions." Sakura smiled at them, and saw Hinata shiver a little despite being wrapped in a parka.

"Haruno. It is time." A voice said from the door. Everyone's head turned to see one of the Hunters standing behind the screen door, looking very much like a phantom. Sakura tried not to sigh herself, now there was no way they would believe she would be fine if they thought that's what she would become.

"Sakura-" She heard Naruto say from across the room in a tender tone.

"I have to go now, my mom will probably appreciate it if you left." Sakura said and departed from the crowded kitchen quickly with the Hunter, not in the mood for a heart felt speech.

Glad the Hunter stayed silent as they made their way across the rooftops, Sakura let her mind wander. What sort of training would she earn, besides the obvious stuff of stealth and assassin training. Hopefully Yusei would make good on his words, Sakura wanted to prove everyone wrong who told her she wasn't strong enough and only regarded her as the helpless medic who was ruled by her emotions. She wanted to become godlike, to be feared by those in power and idolized by the weak. Anyone who underestimated her would be ground to nothing, as Sasori found out.

"We're not headed toward the base." Sakura spoke up then, just realizing how close the Hokage tower was.

"I know. The Hokage wishes to speak with you before you go." The Hunter spoke and Sakura rolled her eyes. She found herself making the familiar ascent to Tsunade's office, and knocked lightly on the door. There was a muffled come in from Shizune and Sakura walked in. Shizune blinked at the pinkette's face, and she knew immediately that something was up, while Tsunade's grave face was focusing on what she was about to say.

"Sakura, you have been my apprentice for two years and even though we have had our disagreements, I still want whats best for you. I disagree completely with you become one of Yusei's Hunters, but it is not in my place to make your decisions for you. Before I stamp this paper that gives you permission, I must ask this. Are you becoming a Hunter with the intentions to bring in Sasuke Uchihia?" Tsunade asked, folding her hands under her chin and staring down the Haruno.

"No." Sakura began slowly. "I'm joining with the intentions to kill Sasuke Uchiha." She smiled widely then and Shizune's eyes were as wide as saucer plates now. Tsunade was still and Sakura rest her hands behind her back and patiently waited for the Hokage to stamp the papers.

"Hokage-sama, Yusei is expecting us." The Hunter spoke up, letting no note of impatience slip despite the fact that several minutes had passed. With a growl, Tsunade raised the paper and stamped it with the seal of approval. Sakura smiled once more before she left with the Hunter.

"Was that wise?" Shizune spoke up.

"She wont last a week during the induction training." Tsunade said smugly, almost assuring herself, before she took a long swig from her brandy bottle.

Tsunade's thoughts were shared by most of the jonin and ANBU ninja's, who scoffed at the idea of the pink haired medic becoming a deadly Hunter. Many of the Hunters were outraged, having to toil away years to gain experience when Sakura was admitted without any of it. They declared foul play, that Tsunade was the main reason why, this had in turned caused a very angry drunk blonde Hokage to thrash a few ninja's who had complained to her more than once. She even destroyed the wall that the builders had worked so hard on.

Everyone was surprised when a week passed and Sakura did not show up in the hospital, and then another, and another. Three months passed and no one had seen nor herd from Sakura Haruno.

When she went into the base, only a handful of people knew about her odd shift in personality, not even her parents knew. Inside the beetle like fortress, she had cut her hair to a short pixie cut and wore tight black mesh clothing that allowed for easy flexibility, and she looked very much like a prepubescent boy with pink hair. She wore a cap to cover the bright hair during training, as it allowed her to blend in better. She thought of dying it, but couldn't come to terms with it. However, there was an odd red streak that looked like dried blood running through a lock.

The Hunters remained faceless spirits coming and going, their generic look made it hard for Sakura to count their numbers. During her first sparing mission, Yusei easily saw through her tactic and took her down within seconds. He had been impressed with her mastery of the Black Monk fighting style, as he was familiar with it himself. He showed her a few pointers and helped her with her offense. The worse was genjutsu training, naturally her worst topic. On her first trip, he had shown her visions of both wonder and horror that any sane person would have broken down from the images. It took all of her will power to break it.

"Your greatest weakness, is yourself, Sakura." Yusei said, smirking at the words. She was hunched over, holding her side and anger boiled under her blood.

"No, it's not." She spat and stood back up, staggering a bit and determined to begin again. She was sleep deprived, fed only small portions and sometimes not at all, and exhausted until she couldn't stand. By the third week, she had come to expect the pain from being beaten to a pulp, and even started to enjoy the injuries. When she was closest to breaking, she'd remember Sasuke's smirking face declaring her a weakling, and she'd get back up, fiercer than ever.

When the second month came, Sakura was allowed only one day of rest and relaxation, given the option to go out to the village to catch up with her friends. She opted instead to stay in her room in the base, sleeping most of the day and waking up to take a long dreamt of bath and to heal her various injuries, she never had enough chakra to heal herself at the end of the day. That night, she was awoken by a sudden and vicious attack from Yusei, which was to engage her ability to react during a surprise attack. He declared that she would have died, and they spent the next three weeks practicing surprise attacks. By the end she was on edge most of the time, kunai throwing happy and paranoid of her own shadow. She was given another day to rest and her wits returned to her after another hot bath.

She had one field practice were she went out into the forest at night with no provisions or a map of the area, taking on surprise attacks from Yusei who had cloned himself, as well as stumbling her way into genjutsu's. She had never been so happy to see the sun rise that morning, and was shocked to find out she passed with flying colors.

"You need to work on holding your emotions." Was Yusei's only comment. The first time she put on the flat marble white mask that transformed her features into nothing and pulled the large black robe over her, she felt all connections to the world snip away one by one. When she took them off, the spell was broken. It was an odd sensation she grew to crave, enjoying the sense of power it gave her and invincibility. The hem would ripple out around her and melt into the dark, a familiar sly smile would creep along her mouth as she glided from place to place.

The third month was not as hard, her induction ceremony was simple. She was allowed to keep the mask and cloak used during training and given a spare set. She was given a new head band, the cloth black and made of silk. The other Hunters drifted in and out as quickly and silently as they had came.

"You have a week off to go catch up with your friends before you are sent off on your first mission." Yusei announced the following day.

"Do people usually die on their first mission?" Sakura frowned.

"Usually." Yusei said and walked away to wander the halls of the base. Sakura folded her cloak on her bed and placed her mask on top of the black fabric lovingly. She changed into her red tank top, the Haruno symbol proudly on display on the back, and wore a white shirt skirt with black leggings under and the familiar black boots. Her once sheared hair was growing back and she ran her hands through the split ends, tying her headband on to hold the bangs back like she usually did. A few strands were to short and fell in front of her face. Only bringing a kunai with her and casting a longing glance at her sword, she left for the village to see what everyone had been up to during her absence.

* * *

><p>if i have jumped the shark, please let me know<p>

i shortened her training session to just a few paragraphs because last time i described them in detail, i ended up getting stuck on it and it spanned needlessly several chapters :P

i get a lot of reviews and hits on this thing, and if everyone who visited left a review, i'd have around 600...yet i only have 18 or so. even if i suck, a review is much appreciated, you can even say i suck if you want. (but id rather you didnt)


	5. In the Pit

Hinata was awake earlier than most, and that was saying something because usually the Hyuuga's were up at the crack of dawn. She was in the park taking a leisurely stroll before breakfast, the weather was supposed to be humid today and she wanted to enjoy the outdoors before it became unbearable. She tugged at the edge of her coat, she could take it off but was self conscious of men staring at her chest. She saw another figure walking along the road ahead of her, and there was no denying the head of pink hair.

"Sakura-san?" Hinata blinked in disbelief, from what she knew, no one had heard from her in over three months.

"Oh, erm, Hinata. Can you not tell anyone you saw me? I was just taking a detour to my house." Sakura said, smiling sheepishly.

"Sure, are you here to stay?" Hinata asked polietely.

"Yes, for a week that is." Sakura said and continued on her way. The pinkette walked briskly now back to her house, knowing that if Hinata was around surely another from Konoha 11 would be around the corner. Her room had been cleaned when she was away, her dirty close washed and neatly folded in her closet, her weapons placed inside a box at the foot of her bed and some one had taken the time to categorize them. Her notebooks were resting on her desk, and she flipped through one without interest. Her books were neatly stacked next to them and Sakura had a hunch her father had been through her room, cleaning everything in sight.

Her parents awoke several hours later when Sakura lay down on her bed, as she had missed it when she had stayed in the barracks sleeping on a stiff cot. Her father left for work and her mother her daytime job, but she'd be back around noon. Sakura awoke from her power nap before eleven and crept downstairs. Their cat was snoozing on the windowsill and she snuck out a leftover sandwich from the fridge. She mused over what she would do with her week off, she didn't like the idea of creeping around the house because she wasn't fond of homecoming hugs and kisses, but it was unavoidable with the rest of her friends. Would they even consider her a friend anymore?

There was a muffled thump some where upstairs and Sakura slowly turned around. She pulled out her one kunai and crept up the stairs, careful to dodge the one squeaky step at the top. She placed her hand on the door to the guest room and carefully inched it open, peering inside slowly.

"Wouldn't that be ironic?" A lazy voice said. Sakura dropped her kunai as she saw Kakashi sitting on the bed reading his smut.

"Kakashi-sensei, why are you in my house?" Sakura asked.

"I heard that you were given a short break and I came to see if it was true." He said, flipping the page.

"You were concerned about me?" Sakura raised and eyebrow.

"You see, Asuma lost a bet with me and said that I needed proof." Kakashi clarified and Sakura rolled her eyes. "Do your parents know that you are here?" He asked.

"Not yet. Only you and Hinata know I'm here, apparently." Sakura ran her hand through her hair in annoyance. "So, what's the deal with Team Seven?" Sakura leaned against the door way and crossed her arms.

"Sasuke has been replaced with a boy named Sai, and Tsunade is still searching for your replacement." The silver haired man said, sighing as he brought up this Sai.

"How is Sai?" Sakura asked, already knowing the answer.

"He's...different." Kakashi winced. "He's from Root, and Tsunade didn't put him on the team with a hundred percent approval. She thinks Danzo want's to keep an eye on Naruto." He explained. Sakura scanned her brain for information on Root. She heard the village elders discussing it every once in a while in hushed tones, and had seen the battle damaged Danzo walking the halls of the Hokage Tower every once in a while. She did not like the way his face twisted into selfish want at everything inside, almost picturing what it would look like if he was the Hokage.

"So he thinks Naruto could be a threat to him?" Sakura asked.

"Yes, or a potential recruit. But we both know that stealth and Naruto aren't a good mix." Kakashi shook his head. It was true, Naruto was more of a battlefield ninja.

"Yusei does not like Danzo." Sakura murmured, remembering a conversation she had with the man early in her training.

"Yes, they're not very fond of each other. Both of their groups compete against one another." Her former sensei flicked the page forward again.

"So, what have you been up to since I've been gone?" Sakura asked.

"We went on one mission, we meet the weirdest kid names Sora..." He said and drifted off, Sakura could sense a story but she really didn't care. The masked jonin left after a small exchange on what she had learned, she did not reveal much. Sakura wondered for one paranoid second if he was gathering information to report to Tsunade. Sakura's hands slowly rolled into fists and she bared her teeth. Why couldn't that old hag just leave her alone? Why did she nose around in her business so much?

'Calm down.' She breathed inwardly._ I know there's a part of you even more twisted than me that resides in the real world. _Her anger had always been volatile, as a genin she directed her quick flashes of rage at Naruto in comical bashing's, nothing ever major. She had come to find her anger as source of strength from Tsunade's training, the super strength reflected the crushing weight of her seething rage that had built up inside.

"Kill Sasuke, end the rage. Find peace." She breathed deeply.

The door opened downstairs and Sakura pulled out her kunai again, a reflex reaction from the days when Yusei would pop out randomly and attack her. her mother cooed to the family cat and placed several paper bags on the table. Of course, Sakura thought, her mother must be home early from work. Sakura slowly put the knife away and descended the stairs. She stood for ten minutes in the door way to the kitchen watching her mother hum to herself and put away the grocery's. Her mother looked in her direction and jumped.

"Oh, goodness! You scared me, sweetie!" Her mother clutched her chest and smiled slightly. Sakura helped put away the rest in only a minute and her mom asked her all sorts of questions about her training and her break. The day ended up being daughter-mother bonding time, and Sakura decided she did not like shopping for dresses as much as she used to. Her mom fluttered about her hair, declaring Sakura needed to cut her split ends and condition pronto, and Sakura shook it off. She couldn't use many products on her hair to avoid scenting it.

The next day arrived early as Sakura found herself waking up at five am, as she usually did at the barracks. She went for a quick jog, lapping around the village twice. She stopped at a small cafe to buy a drink and walk home to enjoy the summer scenery. As she was leaving the cafe, a very angry blonde woman walked up to her with fire blazing in her eyes and raised her hand to slap the pinkette. Sakura ducked the assault and with her pointer and middle finger, poked the attacker in the stomach. The blonde went limp and fell on her back.

"You've made her angrier!" Choji said through a mouthful of food. Sakura looked up and saw Shikamaru half asleep against a light post and Choji enjoying an extra breakfast. Ino jumped to her feet, her face tomato red.

"Sakura Haruno! You're gone for three months and I only find out your back when I see you walk out of a cafe?" Ino said, outraged.

"Why do you care so much? My mom didn't seem to mind." Sakura frowned and Choji doubled over laughing from a comment Shikamaru made.

"Because I'm your friend! I didn't hear a word from you for almost two years, and when you come back, you leave again! I don't want to befriend Tenten! She's crazy!" Ino raised her voice, and stomped her foot. Sakura almost fell flat on her face, she had been such a bad friend. Ino felt abandoned, as Sakura had from Sasuke. Ino also had feelings for the raven haired Uchiha, and when she needed a friend the most, Sakura became a stranger. Ino always was a social butterfly and enjoyed the company of friends more than most, and Sakura had been her best friend. They had promised to not let anything get in the way of their friendship again after realizing they lost it over a stupid boy.

'Oh, she's just a jealous whiny bitch.' A different voice ran through her head. Dark-Sakura was now becoming Sakura, and there was a vacancy in her subconscious for narrative play-by-play. What should she call this new persona? Angry-Sakura? 'Creative.' The voice mumbled/growled.

"Hello?" Ino stressed the 'o'.

"I'm sorry Ino. I've just been busy." Sakura said curtly and vanished into thin air. She had gotten tired and bored of the conversation. Ino really needed to grow up. She didn't know where she was going and reappeared sitting on the bridge that had become a symbol for Team Seven.

"Sakura-chan!" A voice boomed and she almost fell off of the railing. She looked over and did not have to guess Naruto running toward her with a wide smile. A pale dark haired boy their age slowly followed, and Sakura's face contorted weirdly when she saw he was wearing a belly shirt without shame. "Are you back?" Naruto smiled kindly.

"For a week." Sakura said and stepped down from her perch.

"This is Sakura-chan? Eh, she's a six at best." Sai said dismissively and Sakura raised her eyebrows.

"Take that back!" Naruto said comically. Sai seemed to be sizing Sakura up, no doubt he had heard all about her from Naruto and the others. Sakura was struck by how much he resembled Sasuke. The two were supposed to be meeting Kakashi at the bridge at six, so naturally they did not expect him until noon. "Want to stay around and spar a little?" Naruto asked Sakura as they leaned against the bridge.

"Nah, I just got done with training." Sakura said. She was quiet as she listened to Naruto talk about what he had been up to for three months, with the occasional comment from Sai. She wondered if she was being a bad person, distancing herself from her friends. It's not like they really cherished her in the first place, she used to get in the way and complain all the time. Now she was actually useful and kept her comments to herself, Sakura would be overjoyed if she knew someone like that and changed. She was becoming more mature, and it was shallow Ino's own fault for being so clingy. They went for years without being friends just fine, no stopping her from doing it again. Yeah, Ino cared about their friendship. Speaking of blones, another one, the Hokage, should grow up as well. Acting like a sixteen year old not wanting to say sorry first and treating Sakura like a stranger. It seemed more like everyone was abandoning _her _instead.

"Are you okay?" Naruto asked in a hushed tone then.

"Huh? Yeah, I zoned out for a moment." Sakura shook her head. Sai was watching her with an excellent poker face and Naruto looked worried.

"Are you sure?" Naruto persisted.

"Yeah, I'm still pretty tired from my training. I'll see you tomorrow." Sakura said, standing up and left before Naruto could pester her with further questions. She found an empty training ground and let out her frustrations on a poor dummy that was just a heap of stuffing and cloth when she left around dinner time. At dinner she talked a little to her dad about her training. He seem worried, no more so than others but announced that if anyone could be a special Hunter, it was her. She smiled, it felt nice to receive recognition from some one.

The next day went by with less dramatic meetings, and Sakura meet with Naruto for lunch, who was accompanied by Sai. By the end of the gathering, Sakura was starting to warm up to the replacement, just a tad. She saw Ino in the streets who ignored her and was shopping with a disgruntled Shikamaru. She went back up to the library and the librarian recognized her brightly, even though Sakura had been absent for three months. It felt nice being in the silent building were no one was scolding her or worried about her. She practiced her ninjutsu once more, the technique that covered her body in chakra wasn't as impossible now. She managed to turn her entire arms blue and hold it for ten seconds before it flickered away. It would come in handy during surprise attacks and vital moments were she was vulnerable.

On the third day she couldn't meet up with Naruto, whose new female team mate had been placed on the team and was training with her to build up team work. Sakura wondered if she would be able to meet the new girl, and who she was. She spent the day in the library once more and on her walk back home she ran into Hinata, who was quiet and did not ask many questions.

She grew to enjoy the solitude, and would often seek out places to be alone in her endless hours for vacation. Mostly she would read her books, and she even picked up one for recreational reading. The last book she read for fun had been when she was still in the academy. This one was a mystery about a female detective tracking down a serial killer. By the end of the novel, Sakura slowly sat it down and decided she had read a different vision of her current predicament.

The last days were spent like this, finding a cold quiet place to read and write down her own thoughts and reflections. She had an idea for a jutsu, and was sketching down the abstract details. Before she could make much progress, her time was up. On her last night, her mother wanted to throw a farewell party, but Sakura nearly threw a fit, not wanting to see anyone before she would leave. It was the first time in five years that Sakura was grounded.

She woke up that morning to gray skies and a light drizzle. She pulled a jacket around her shirt and longer shorts, departing for the base. For a paranoid second, she thought that the base had been just a figment of her imagination, but surely the beetle black fortress rose out of the cluster of ancient trees. No one was outside to greet her and she hesititated before passing in freely. Her room was the same as she left it and she draped her cloak over her shoulders before departing to see Yusei. He was in his office trying to shoot crumpled up pieces of paper into a waste basket. She opened the door and caught a stray flier without looking and dumped it into the trash.

"Oh, you're back." He said, amused.

"Did you think I would run away or try to quit?" Sakura asked.

"You wouldn't have been the first. Now, sit down." He said and folded his hands on his desk. Sakura sat down on the familiar chair and placed her hands in her lap. "Two Akatsuki members have killed a monk in a temple and have taken the body, they have been identified as Hidan and Kakuzu, so we suspect they are to sell the body for a bounty, as the monk used to be a guardian for the Fire Lord. You are to track down Hidan and Kakuzu and kill them and take the body. If you can only kill one, that is fine." Yusei explained.

"Wait, they're both said to be immortal." Sakura frowned.

"Yes."

"And you want me to find a way to kill them?"

"Yes."

Sakura was silent for a while as she thought about the task ahead. Go after two immortal murderous criminals just for a dead guy's body.

"Why can't some of the more expereienced hunters do the mission?" She asked and Yusei sighed.

"Three are currently on missions, one is on leave, one is in the hospital, another is dead, and the last is missing." He counted off with his hands. "Besides, you were able to kill one before, two shouldn't be that difficult. Tsunade has gathered a force already to track them down, but the Fire Lord felt more comfortable if we sent one of my Hunter's as well."

She could only nod and departed for her room. She had transferred all of her weapons into it and placed a poster of one of her favorite movies on the wall to make the gloomy place look a little bit more like home. She armed herself to the teeth, strapping scrolls around her waist, packing her medical bag as well. She had been told the location of the temple and had only a day to make the trip before the regular force arrived there. She pulled her hood above her face and it draped around her mask like a frame, and she felt the familiar cold sensation of loosing herself behind the outfit.

The Village quickly dissolved before her as she set out, flying through the forest canopy at top speed. She must have looked like a great bird to those who could spot her, maybe even the vulture. Not long after she left, she felt the chakra signatures of three powerful jonin leave the village, traveling at a slower pace than her in the same direction. They must have been the regular force, and she kept tabs on them. Sasori's ring weighed heavily on it's chain, and for the first time in a long time, Sakura was afraid of her mission. She was going to die for sure, and no one would care because she had been so awful to everyone.

'Shut up and deal.' Anger growled and Sakura remembered what she was, and that she choose this. Masking her chakra from habit so the regular force would not know of her presence and try to work with her, she kept moving. As sundown approached, she was growing nearer to the temple, and broke from the sea of tree's to land on a dirt road across from the holy building. To any unsuspecting person, it would have looked as if she materialized out of then air, a ghost of the night that appeared at dusk. The regular force was a few hours away, but they were resting for the night. She moved up the stairs of the temple and knocked. The door swung open and monk regarded her appearance. He obviously knew that she was a ninja of Konoha, but he had probably been suspecting the three jonin.

"I am a Hunter of Konoha, sent here to track down and kill the two Akatsuki members that have terrorized you. I will need the information that you know,and you must refrain from telling the three men who will arrive in the morning of my presence." She resisted, her voice came out as a muffled androgynous grumble.

"I will tell if they ask, but, since they do not know of you, they will not ask. Would you like to come in?" He asked and Sakura nodded, gliding up the rest of the stairs and into the building. Any chaos that had happened here had been cleaned up, much to Sakura's dismay as she could have used it to asses their situation. She moved about the temple and the monk followed her silently, pointing out were certain scenes took place. She frowned behind her mask, scanning the building for remnants of a chakra signature. It was a trick Yusei taught her, and she picked up Hidan and Kakuzu's after deep concentration.

"I see." She spoke more to herself and the monk looked at her quizzically.

"Would you like to know which direction they went in?" He asked.

"That will not be necessary." She said and made her way to the door.

"You're going to sleep outside?" He said, aghast from the idea.

"I'm not tired." Sakura said and left before he could object. She found a medical scroll on a technique that used a small sliver of chakra and made you feel well rested, and had packed it among her mobile library strapped at her waist. The moon was full so she made great progress, and her eyes had gotten used to the dark while being pent up the barracks for three months. By morning, the regular force was making time, only several hours behind. A small town popped out of the landscape, with it's dilapidated and neglected buildings, this was nothing more than a post for bandits and crooks passing through. She was on alert, as Hidan and Kakuzu's signature had dropped off.

She waltzed into the town, and no one paid her any attention, as mostly the only souls out were slumped over drunks and women in tattered clothing wandering the streets. She investigated every buidling, and after a half hour, she stumbled into a bounty hunter collection ring. The reception room was empty and a door had been left open to a side room. She slowly stepped toward the room and slid in through the small crack. A body was on a table covered with a tan tarp. Muffled voices could be heard arguing somewhere upstairs. A large beefy man was snoring against his seat across from the body. A quick kunai toss later and he was slumped against the ground in a pool of his own blood.

She lifted the tarp up, and recognized the garb of the monk. Carefully she wrapped the body in the covering and sealed it with chakra, slinging it over her shoulder and taking her kunai from the man's throat, she dissolved into nothing and reappeared on the roof of the building. Her heart was pounding against her chest, and she was perplexed by the resounding silence of the shanty town and how easy that had been. Her brain was scrambled as she pondered if she should return the body to the temple or try and find her targets.

A pungent order wafted up toward her nose and she almost staggered on her feet. Right, she thought, return the body. She looped around the village to head back to the temple taking a different route to avoid being tracked and the team of three that had departed from the temple and was making their own way toward the village.

Before she could even come within sight of the thin forest, she was attacked. She sensed it coming a fraction of a second before it hit because she was still nervous, and ducked, rolling on her feet and landing on the dusty earth. The body of the monk tumbled from her hands, quickly, she formed a barrier over it and got back on her feet.

"Hey, I've got a monopoly on that body." Kakuzu growled at her. Hidan was smirking and watching her with a glint in his eyes.

"Why, do you want to fuck it?" Sakura growled right back and Hidan roared with laughter. The stitched man was in front of her before she could blink and a fist was sent towards her mask. Sakura was able to dodge it and felt the cold sensation as Dark-Sakura took full control. She rolled backward, contemplating if it was wise to use her own impressive strength, but it was widely known that only two people in the world had the strength to create creators with their fists. She countered with Tai Chi Baum instead, managing to block his own strength by rewriting her own strength into her defense.

He pulled back for a punch, and Sakura saw an opening, her fist landed against his stomach and pushed him back only an inch, before she opened her palm and struck again and he was sent sprawling on his back. He got to his feet before even a second passed. Suddenly his hand was flying at her, but he had not moved. His hand enclosed around her neck and drug her towards him. Before he could impale her with a kunai or other attack, her fist reeled back on impulse and smacked against his chest. She was released and he was once again sent flying back, but this time tumbling backward.

'Dammit, bad idea.' She growled to herself. But his own attack had revealed much about himself, his stitches held him together and he was able to expand his body parts for a long range attack. Something told her that these also had something to do with healing. In short, he was going to be very hard to beat. Not to mention his partner who looked bored with the fight. Kakuzu smiled beneath his wrappings, this was going to be to easy.

"I know who you are," He said slowly, almost mischievously,"You'll fetch a decent price." Sakura reached into her cloak and pulled of her necklace, and held it out at arms length. The ring on the end dangled like a worm at the end of a line, and it caught the sun light.

"You recognize this don't you? I've grown fond of my little trophy. May I add yours to my collection?" She said, her voice sweet but laced with venom. In her head, Dark Sakura was pushing back at the Anger who had broken through for a brief moment. She tucked the necklace away and took the stance for the Black Monk Fighting Style. His body expanded again and the grey like tentacles were lashing at her. Her hands, held loose at her sides, spiraled around, striking the body parts that threatened her. She caught one tentacle and held it down with a powerful force from her knee and struck it repeatedly, leaving it in gory tatters.

Kakuzu shrunk back, and Sakura watched as the fatal blows she dealt healed before her eyes. One arm still resembled hamburger meat, and that must have been the part she held down. With his good arm, he shrugged out of his Akatsuki robe and began to perform the hand signs for a jutsu. Sakura was on edge, and didn't have full time to prepare, because before she knew it, a large black _thing _wearing a mask was running at her. She pooled chakra into her feet to increase her speed. A white beam shot at her but she avoided it at the last second, and it exploded like lightning. The shrapnel from the exploding attack embedded into her side and she grit her teeth to avoid screaming out. Her fist struck the ground and she was propelled forward from the sheer force, and shot wind out of her feet so it looked as if she flew across the battle field.

Now she could see the thing head on that was quickly covering the distance. She formed the chakra petals, a thick cloud enveloped her and she stretched her arm out at the chasing figure that spat out lightning. The chakra petals danced around wildly, but at her command they shot forward like her own canon. A good number of them were destroyed by another beam of lightning, but the remainder swarmed her attacker and another beam shot out. The chasing figure was hardly deterred by her attack, so she thought quickly, and a gust of wind wrapped around her. It quickly expanded and a roaring cyclone buffeted him back, chakra petals stirred around inside forming a tight seal.

'If the thing gets inside, I'll destroy it close range with the Black Monk style, if it shoots out lighting, deflect it.' She thought. Before she could finish her sentence, Kakuzu was behind her and attacked, his arm was as hard as steel and slammed against her head. The world grew fuzzy and stars formed. The cyclone died away as her concentration slipped away and Kakuzu raised his arm in a death blow.

A bearded ninja clenching a cigarette in his mouth appeared and his own fist connected against Kakuzu. The stitched man was able to deflect the attack and turned his attention to the new comer. Sakura stood up, and she almost hit herself on the head. Of course, the three man team would have sensed their fight. The other two team mates turned their attention to Hidan, who looked pleased that he had something to do.

"Return the body to the temple! We'll take over here!" Asuma called to her. Sakura nodded and ran as fast as she could toward the shielded body of the monk, a little smug that her barrier still held. Her arms passed right through it and at her touch it dissolved. She picked up the wrapped body and left at top speed. Her heart was still racing as she flew towards the temple. For a brief moment, she knew she was going to die. Now her stomach was turning at the thought and her palms sweated, as one does after having a traumatic experience. But at the time, she had not been afraid. It was weird to explain what she felt, it wasn't eagerness, its wasn't bitterness. It was...nothing.

The temple she had visited earlier in the night looked innocent from the scene she just left. Her side burned as it was still bleeding freely and the side of her face was throbbing from Kakuzu's punch. She managed to remain tall and regal as she deposited the body on the front steps. She knocked and heard footsteps approaching, but left before she saw who opened the door. She paused momentarily to heal her wounds, her chakra halfway depleted by now. Sakura remembered the kind man Asuma from when she was a genin, she mostly associated him with being Ino's teacher and heard gossip about him and Kurenai from her mother. Sakura could not let Asuma die, as she knew it would hurt Ino. 'This is how I'll make it up to you, stupid pig.' Sakura growled inwardly and charged toward the battlefield.

She stopped, hiding behind a stray boulder. Hidan was dealing with his attackers well. For the hour that she had been gone, Asuma and Kakuzu must have dueled and epic battle, as both were close to defeat. She slowly drew her sword out, the sound of her pounding heart filled her ears and the dull ache from the side of her face became a pleasant sensation. Adrenaline flooded her system as she watched the battle in numb disbelief.

Almost as if she had had a premonition, she watched as Kakuzu struck and killed Asuma. The Sarutobi fell and Kakuzu stood triumphantly, watching his prey die. She moved before she registered the thought, and her sword seemed to be the only object in the world, it's white blade cutting a path of light towards the zombie man. Blade meet flesh, then tendons and bone, cleaving the neck in two. His head rolled from his shoulder and bounced to the ground as the body fell down with a dull thump. Dark Sakura smirked, and her own lips pulled into a gnarled smile. She collected another trophy, slipping the ring into her pocket.

She felt a jolt and sensed new arrivals. Her head snapped in their direction and she felt her stomach drop and fall through the ground. Shikamaru was running toward her and Ino was frozen were she stood, Choji stood next to her but followed Shikamaru. They had been there the entire time, watching as their sensei died and Sakura beheaded the murderer.

She backed away from the scene and felt uncomfortable, they would recognize her sword and demand she try to save their teacher, but Sakura could sense that he was close to death. Ino ran forward, tears running down her cheeks and she fell to her knees, green chakra emanated from her hands. Her head slowly turned toward Hidan, who was about to defeat his opponents. She gripped the sword hard, as a sense of failure washed over her. Anger raged inside, clawing and scratching. Dark Sakura subdued the reckless girl, and cold calculating thoughts returned as she charged the remaining Akatsuki.

* * *

><p>"You do realize now, that, the Akatsuki is definitely going to put you in their own bingo book?" Yusei asked. Sakura found herself in the familiar office, she trembled a bit when she sat down, numb to the events that had occur ed. Hidan had gotten away, as four ninja's had ganged up on him. He had cursed and said lewd comments towards Ino, and would have to the pinkette if Sakura had revealed herself. Asuma had ultimately perished, and the village was currently morning him at his funeral. Kurenai ultimately collapsed into dry sobs, as her unborn child would not have a father.<p>

"Kakuzu recognized me, I'm not sure Hidan did." Sakura corrected.

"They'll figure it out, I'm sure. Or, they'll try to recruit you." Yusei said as if it was nothing. "They've tried to recruit my Hunters before, but they end up dying in the field, however..." He trailed off in his thoughts.

"If they try to recruit me, you want me to go, don't you?" Sakura breathed.

"Some one on the inside for us would be valuable. But we will cross that bridge when it comes." He smiled pleasantly and stamped the mission report as successful, despite that Hidan had escaped. "Did your friends recognize you?" He asked.

"If they did they did not say anything." Sakura said and stood up. She was dismissed and wandered back to her room. She had failed Ino as a friend, and felt the last thread of their friendship slip away. She froze in her door way and decided something. Every relationship she had with others exploded in her face, even though Naruto and Kakashi were the only two left that still held, they had replaced her with some one else. It was a matter of time before they to would abandon her.

_That's all anyone ever does, is leave. _She growled bitterly. To hell with them all.

That was the day she decided to live without feelings.

* * *

><p>my first battle scene, hope it wasnt boring<p>

tell what you think, if im capturing sakura correctly in her depression, etc, if you hate it, like it, and what not

and a response to a review, i looked up the skillet song (ive heard their song monster before) and it was very fitting for this story indeed! lol, and thanks for the other reviews as well, they were all helpful

you should leave some more =3


	6. The Perfect Storm

Tenten sat in the Hokage's office, her back ramrod straight and her face set into a serious mask. Tsunade shuffled through papers and folded her hands.

"Tenten, you are one of the strongest kunoichi's in the village, and the most capable with the task I am about to give you." Tsunade said. Tenten nodded briskly, eager to hear what sort of top secret mission she was about to get. Travel to a distant land and destroy an illegal scroll? Track down a runaway prisoner? All of the possibilities ran through her head.

"This village holds many secretes. For to long Root and Yusei's Hunters have gone unchecked and unnoticed. I already have someone inside Root, but not someone inside Yusei's Hunters." She began.

"You want me to join Yusei's Hunters?" Tenten furrowed her brow. The idea did not excite her.

"No, I want you to infiltrate their base and place several spy taps in the building. You must be careful where you place them, as the Hunter's have high chakra sensing abilities and these will leave a trace. If you do it correctly, they should leave little to none to where it wont be traceable." Tsunade said, and handed Tenten the scrolls to learn the ability. Tenten nodded.

"Why though? Don't they answer to you?" Tenten asked.

"They should, originally the leader reported directly to the Hokage and only acted on the Hokage's orders, but when the Third Hokage died a few years ago, this stopped during the months of finding his replacement. Since then, Yusei has found a loophole around me and only answers to the Fire Lord. They're good friends so the Fire Lord does not tell me what is going on, and if he does, it's after something has happened. Many in the village think the Fire Lord is using that branch of the Hunters to spy into our village's affairs and is trying to...take over completely, in a sense." Tsunade thought out the last few words. The politics of the village was so deep and extensive it would take a few days to explain the situation to Tenten. "I will not put this on documentation, as whenever I do, Yusei finds out. I suspect he has a person working for him in here." She added.

"Hokage-sama, I must ask one thing though. Are you just now keeping check on them just because Sakura joined?" Tenten asked carefully. Tsunade pursed her lips and Tenten feared an outbreak and prepared herself to run if the blonde's hands curled into fists. But, the brown eyed woman smiled.

"You have until the end of the month." She added in a pleasant tone and Tenten nodded once more before departing, and did not see Tsunade take a long drink from a hidden bottle of vodka.

* * *

><p>"So, who did you think the Hunter was?" Naruto asked Shikamaru. The boy whose hair resembled a pineapple was slumped over a cup of coffee and his team mate Choji was next to him enjoying a plate of ribs. Shikamaru had just finished his recount of the mission that cost him his sensei.<p>

"I don't know. It's impossible to tell them apart. They came out of nowhere and was literally gone the second Hidan escaped. They probably went after him." Shikamaru sighed as he took a sip of his drink. He had been angry at that stupid Hunter, the coward who had hid while his sensei took on the Akatsuki member, only to die while the Hunter got in a cheap win. Ino was beating herself up over it all, how she couldn't save Asuma, and in a fit of rage said Sakura could have saved him blindfolded.

Naruto nodded but did not say anything. Truth be told, the loudmouth's silence scared the crap out of Shikamaru. He expected the blond to boast about how they would get through this and that everything was for the best and give some sappy speech about friendship and never giving up. But he had been almost as quiet as Shino, except when he got to the part about the Hunter, Naruto wouldn't shut up about the identity of the ninja.

'He probably thinks it's Sakura.' Shikamaru grumbled. He hadn't really thought much about the pink haired girl, other than that she was Ino's friend and the two constantly bickered. He sighed again, not wanting to understand how girl's friendships worked. He had noticed her drastic spike in strength though in little over a year, before she had grown in strength slowly and gradually, but it was as if something changed in her overnight. Her chakra signature was different as well. Before, it had danced through her system, now, her chakra seeped through her like mud. It was all baffling and he sighed once more. People were so irritating.

* * *

><p>Sakura spent the money she earned from her first mission on two sets of kunai's. The blades were deep black and did not reflect the light, handy for missions. She also bought winter close while they were still cheap and a few more articles of clothing. Most of her down time was spent training, eating, or sleeping. She ventured back to her house to get her notes on her own type of jutsu she was developing. It dealt with pressure and how to transfer it to wind attacks to make them more deadly, not just gusts of air that impeded a person's advance.<p>

She was sent on one other mission to find the missing Hunter. She was accompanied by another, presumably the Hunter that just got out of the hospital. They did not talk much and that suited Sakura just fine. Ultimately they did not find their missing comrade and he was declared dead when they returned without him. She was given money again, but declined as she had more than enough from her last mission.

"We did not come with pretext for greed." She murmured to herself as she swept the dusty hall outside of her room and set to lighting the lamps that hung from the ceiling. The rings around her waist jingled, as she took to wearing her trophies attacked to her belt now. It was impractical as they'd make noise when she walked, but most of the kunoichi in the village wore outfits fit for prostitutes.

She set the broom aside to wash her face which felt sticky, in the bathroom mirror she noted that she had bags under her eyes, despite the fact that she got plenty of sleep now that she wasn't out on missions. Her eyes were cold and dead, and it was then that she realized she was looking at Dark-Sakura. What was the poem she had recited the first time Sakura had seen her split personality? She scanned her brain but could only pick up a few bits and pieces, and shrugged, like it mattered. Dark-Sakura got what she wanted.

'When will it be my time, huh?' Anger growled, crossing her arms.

"Oh shut up or I'll take a big dose of Lithium to shut you up." Sakura snapped right back, saying it out loud in a hushed tone. Anger giggled that she had gotten a rise out of Sakura, who rolled her eyes. She really needed to keep tabs on the voices in her head. She turned the water on and splashed it in her face, rubbing soap into her skin and then rinsing with a damp wash cloth. She felt a jolt and her head slowly turned the closed door. Odd, did she just feel a chakra signature? She scanned the base, and there were only two other Hunters here, both in their rooms, and Yusei was away. She set out to find out who it could be that had slipped through. The base had little to no defenses, as the thickly growing forest acted as a natural barrier, and many from the village had no reason to come here, the location was unknown.

The hallways lit up as she flipped several switches and had to blink, as she had been used to the dim lighting. When she reached the area she thought she felt something, no one was there. She cocked her head to one side, not knowing what to make of the situation. She turned on her heels to march back to her room. Now her mind was playing tricks on her, she grumbled.

Several weeks passed and Sakura milled about the base, wondering why she had not been sent on any more missions. She may not have as much experience as the others, but she was just as qualified. Impatience surrounded her as she paced her familiar hallway, when another Hunter appeared before her.

"Yusei wishes to speak with us." They said. Sakura nodded and followed. Yusei was leaning back in his chair when they entered and was folding paper hats when they arrived. Something told Sakura that he got bored and did not have much to do most of the time. A third Hunter was standing in the corner.

"There she is, now we can begin. Sources have informed me of the whereabouts of Itachi Uchiha, and his partner. Your mission is to bring back the Uchiha, dead or alive. The Council prefers him dead, but I have seen the elder Uchiha fight, and I doubt you'll kill him. You three are the most capable with this mission, especially you Sakura, our little Akatsuki Hunter." He winked at her. Sakura shifted on her feet. She should probably clarify about the times she killed the two Akatsuki, one was from help, and the other sheer dumb luck. She just nodded.

"Here is the location of Itachi," Yusei handed the Hunter that retrieved Sakura the scroll, and right then she knew he (or she) would be team leader, "You are to leave immediately, and be careful as he seems to like killing my Hunters."

The Pinkette departed from her teammates to gather her supplies, the entire time she was shaking internally. Sasuke would not be far from Itachi. Bring in Itachi, Sasuke will come back to the Village, kill Sasuke. Easier said than done, she thought as she strapped her medical supplies to her belt. She donned the Anbu armor, and slipped her cloak over her to hide her many concealed weapons. She walked over to her desk to where she kept her mask, and wondered if she should wright a goodbye letter, as there was a chance she would not be returning. In the end, she did not and tied her mask on, feeling the cold wash over her and her attachments to the world slip away. With that mask she was no longer Sakura Haruno. She was a Hunter.

It was then that she thought about the words Dark-Sakura had spoken to her while aboard the Vulture in her dream. _Death applies to everything. _'_Even the Uchiha's_.' Am I even ready? She thought this through, looking to the other side of her room. Truth be told, she expected at least another year tops of experience and honing her skills before she set out to kill Sasuke. She was at a major disadvantage against him, and even Naruto. They had inherent abilities, massive amounts of strength hidden underneath the underneath, godlike brute force. But she had a few advantages over them to. One, she was smarter than them. No matter how strong you were, a well thought out strategy could take you down. Second, she was hard to kill. There was this stubbornness inside her that no matter what the universe threw at her, she just would not die. And third, she knew how they worked. What made them tick.

'Several years may have passed Sasuke, but I've seen how cruel and dark this world can be. You're nothing. I've got you, you're mine.' She finished with a terrible smirk and left the room behind to meet up with her team mates at the entrance.

* * *

><p>Tsunade stared out of the window, her hands rest behind her back and she watched the bloody sun set. The group she picked out stood waiting her briefing, they would have no idea about the Hunters. She sighed internally, there were so many complex layers to the situation, to Itachi, the Village, everything. When she learned of the real reason behind the Uchiha massacre, nothing stirred inside her. It was a call the Third made, would she have done any different? She may have been dealing with the ripples of his decision, but now it was time to dry up the stupid puddle.<p>

"We have received information on the whereabouts of Itachi Uchiha. Your mission is to track him down and bring him back to the village. For a long time, no one could wrap their mind around the reasoning how one could slaughter their entire family. In due time, we will all find out. Bring in Itachi, and Sasuke will be next. Understand?" She turned around, eyeing down the combined forces of Team Seven and Team Eight. Granted, Team Seven was only made up of two members, as the female replacement quit. Tsunade thanked the heavens that Tenten had been successful in the mission that took place earlier that month.

Naruto's face was surprisingly calm, and Tsunade wondered if it was the real Naruto there. For weeks after Asuma's death, Naruto became less loud and cheerful, and seemed thoughtful, almost distracted.

'God dammit, Sakura, why do we put up with you so much?' Tsunade cursed her former pupil. Brats were so annoying. The assembled team left to gather the required supplies, as the mission stated they leave that night. The Hunters had two days advance on them, so they'd have to hurry. She turned to observe the sundown once more, and noted how she saw dark clouds wrapped in a thin band in the far distance. A storm was brewing.

* * *

><p>Sakura was racing along in the fading darkness, they were close to Itachi after traveling for almost a week, several times they were led on false trails. Her skin crawled and all she focused on was her breathing. She could not fail this one. The Leader stopped and at once, Sakura and the Other Hunter stopped. The Leader's hand shot out and they retreated a few paces.<p>

"The Team of Six, do you feel it?" He asked. The Other nodded and Sakura shook her head no. Her sensing abilities were not as advanced as theirs. The Leader reached forward and touched her arm with his pointer finger, and at once, she picked up the familiar signature of Naruto, accompanied by Team Eight.

"The Hokage found out about our mission." The Other said and Sakura felt as if they were both looking at her.

"I haven't talked to her in six months." Sakura growled back. She be damned if she was to be the scapegoat. "Besides, they are apart of Konoha. They will not get in our way." She said. She found the situation funny then, and almost giggled. Sasuke was chasing Itachi, Sakura was chasing Sasuke, and Naruto was chasing them both. The Leader nodded once more and wordlessly, they set out again.

They traveled for several more hours, and stopped when the moon was beginning its descent back to the earth. They had gone through the second phase of the mission only once. In the past, Hunters died by the Hands of Itachi because they took him head on, and any attack using stealth was foolish as well. Her teammates had largely put the task of incapacitating Itachi up to her, as she had experience dealing with the Akatsuki, knew the anatomy of the human body and various medical jutsu's to break it, and she was reckless enough to try it.

The moment she learned of her mission on Itachi, she had taken records of his missions and Anbu reports on his strength ranging from when he first became a ninja to now, and read up on them when they had made camp to rest. His growth was that of Naruto on steroids, she couldn't wrap her mind around how a preteen could become an Anbu captain, or how the village let him.

'See, this is what they do. Create war machines, and when their little machine turns against them, they must die.' She thought angrily after reading up a report shortly issued before the Uchiha Massacre. She had every right to hate Itachi, because his actions created Sasuke which broke her down, but she could not. Instead, she was fascinated by him, how he worked, what made him tick. She had to know. It did not make any sense. He was a puzzle, and she was trying to solve it.

'Everyone has a motivation. There was nothing to gain by killing his family, and he had no reason to. They loved him, he was a god to them.' She frowned one night while her two team mates slept. 'Could he have snapped?' She tilted her head to one side. One thing was for sure, she had some digging around to do in the Uchiha Compound when she returned to Konoha.

Returning to the present, just over a small ridge was an old Uchiha base. The two Hunters nodded at her and Sakura walked towards it, her chakra masked and she inhaled deeply. She seemed to have lifted up in the air, small gusts of wind pushed her up and levitated her into space. Energy pooled into the very tips of her fingers from instinct, and she curled her small hands into fists, bringing them together, and slamming them into the roof of the base. Cracks appeared were her fists touched, and pressure exploded from her hands in a second wave, crumbling much of it to dust. She kept sailing from the gust of wind and landed on the other side away from her comrades, the second positioned himself to where they were assembled in the points of a triangle.

Dawn broke as the building fell to the earth, the morning clouds above were a dull grey, but the enclosing clouds in the distance were pitch black. Sakura was reminded of the night so long ago when Naruto failed to retrieve Sasuke, the darkness that shut down the entire village for what seemed a lifetime but was only a few moments. She smiled bitterly, the darkness was coming to take her.

A figure appeared in the rubble, yes he matched the height description and there was no mistaking that dark hair and the blood red clouds that adorned his cloak. Itachi Uchiha did not move, except his eyes which traveled from Hunter to Hunter. When he looked at Sakura, she noted how his eyes were a few inches off from hers. 'So his eye sight is this bad.' She smirked. She had a wild idea, a way to cut him off from the sharingan, but only for a few minutes. She'd have to get close to him, and that was dangerous and spelled death.

Sakura inhaled silently and her foot began to move forward slowly, but before any one could make a move, they were attacked. Sakura's assailant was a large man, the Leader's a white haired man with a large sword, and the Second Hunter's a red haired woman. The Haruno ducked under an attack from the Giant and landed a kick against his large chest, but she might as well have thrown a pillow at him, for all the harm it did. He grabbed her foot and spun her head over heals. She let out a pressurized gust of wind at him but all it did was cause minor cuts along his face.

His blood lust was apparent, and it was for Sakura. She used a powerful gust of wind to push her back from him and took the Black Monk stance. As the Brute descended upon her, she landed a good hit that caused his right arm to go limp. He roared with anger and his other hand closed around her throat. Her feet shot up and wrapped around his arm and she twisted out of his grasp, throwing him to the ground. Triumphantly, she pulled out a kunai to slit his throat, when the red head woman saw that her team mate was about to die, and threw a sendon, throwing Sakura's kunai out of her hand. Her attacker took advantage of Sakura's confusion and landed a fatal wound to her chest.

'Taken out by a thug!' Was Sakura's last thought as she crumpled into a heap on the ground. She was loosing alot of blood, and her attacker rose over her grinning from ear to ear, bent on inflicting more pain. She began to slide away from the world from shock, swearing revenge against this common brute.

She did not see the three that attacked fall back.

She did not see her comrades retreat to watch the battle.

She did not hear Zetsu's comment about how easily she had died.

And Sakura did not see Sasuke arrive and attack his brother.

_Where am I? _

_She looked around, she was suspended in an all white void, mist tickled her face and the back of her neck, as she was wearing her mission robe. 'Am I in Purgatory?' She thought, and heard a laugh behind her. She turned around and laid eyes on herself. Anger was standing in the nothingness, black thunder clouds circled her ankles and up to her knees. She did not have the black bruises under her eyes, but her hair was completely red and her green eyes were a harder,solid shade of emerald. _

_"Am I dead?" Sakura blurted out._

_"No. But a part of you is. It's weird, I saw Dark-Sakura take the hit for you. Kinda like how Inner Sakura died from your near death experience way back when." Anger contemplated. _"Death applies to everything, correct?" She smiled.__

_"She was just the manifestation of an emotion. As are you." Sakura said._

_"Silly Sakura-chan. It's like you don't even know yourself. As they say, there is someone inside my head that isn't me." Anger threw out a short bark like laugh. "Enough, you needed Dark-Sakura. She ran her course. Now it's my turn." _

_Before she could protest, the thunder clouds expanded and filled the entire void, Anger was lost in the haze, and lightning licked the air here and there. Thunder boomed in her head like cannon fire, rattling her to her core. She was caught right in the middle of the Tempest, unable to free herself._

_"I need to wake up. Wake up." She whispered to herself. Claws embedded themselves into Sakura's back and she gasped as fangs bit down on her neck. Sakura fell to her knees as the storm raged on, and Anger crippled the girl until she was curled up in the fetal position._

_"Be a good girl and stay here." Anger smiled, and melded against the pinkette. Sakura could only watch as Anger seemed to cover her like a thick film of skin and bone, broken and immobilized from the lightning and rain, frightened from the roaring thunder that sounded like a great dragon._

_Consciousness__ flooded her vision as a white tunnel._

Her hearing was muffled and she could make out the buzz of a great fight going on. The sky shook, but that was from her own disorientation. Her chest seemed heavy, and she twitched her finger to make sure she was truly alive. The weight was lifted and air rushed into her lungs. Her hand found its way to her mask and she removed it to get a better harvest of air, she tossed it away with indifference, and just laid there. Her head moved to take in the scene of the battle not far off.

Sasuke was engaging Itachi in taijutsu, and Itachi was loosing. Wait, Sasuke. _Sasuke. **Sasuke. **_It was him. First things first, she smiled to herself, kill the giant freak that dared to fight Sakura Haruno. She jumped to her feet fluidly and streaked off the battle field. Wind shot out of her feet, the hem of her cloak billowed out around her like wings and she skidded to a stop in front of the brute. He seemed startled, much more gentle, almost a different person.

Her sword was freed from its sheath and she buried it in his chest. This action spanned the time frame of the blink of an eye. The Silver Haired man threw his sword down at her, but it was big and bulky and she could see it coming a mile away. Her forefinger and middle finger struck his neck and he seizured up, falling over his own legs. The Red Head was yelling now, but Sakura gave her a good punch in the face before she lifted into the air and found a good perch to watch the battle.

The game had changed with Sasuke's arrival. Should she kill two birds with one stone? Her head titled from side to side. If she could somehow pull Itachi out of the fight when both were close to defeat and make her escape, saving Itachi and bringing him back to the village, then she could train for a little while longer and wait for Sasuke to come bounding in to finish his revenge. _Or, we wait until they are both close to defeat, run in, and kill them both. _

No, she knew both of these plans would not work. Sasuke had to know what he had done to her, the scope of what his selfish actions had created. Naruto's team was closing in, they'd arrive in at least an hour. She had to work fast, Naruto had his heart in the right place, but a long drawn out speech about friendship and bonds would be highly annoying. She had lost allot of blood from the Brute's attack, and a large drawn out fight was probably not the best idea.

While she thought out her options, her blood began to boil. There he was, the man that she once worshiped who made her a fool, walking around ignorant and selfish. 'I'll fucking break you, Sasuke Uchiha. I'll slit your throat a thousand times and watch you die and laugh.' She spat, gripping the tree branch hard that cracks appeared under her fist. She had to show him the Full Dark, and she glanced at the sky. The pitch black thunder clouds were closer now, the boom of thunder spoke her name, electrified from lightning.

'He'll see, they'll all see.' She smiled widely. Returning to the battle, it was hard to tell who was to win and who was to loose. Both were equal, it seemed. 'He's holding back. Itachi Uchiha, you're holding back.' She gritted her teeth. Did he want to die? 'What does he have to live for now anyway.' She laughed. She wished she could have seen the entire battle to get a scope of Sasuke's abilities, and once again she damned that Brute to hell, but he was probably there right now anyway. The Elder Uchiha fell to his knees, both of the remaining Uchiha's were battered and damaged, panting heavily and close to defeat. Itachi seemed to be talking, and Sasuke's face grew to a shocked mask.

**_'Now.' _**

She was flying across the battle field and seemed to be a large black blur. She landed in front of Sasuke and her fist broke through the Earth's crust, creating a large fissure. Sasuke stumbled and fell back, surprised from her appearance. She created a wall of pressurized wind, and for a good measure, a barrier over Sasuke, then turned to Itachi. His eyes were resting a few feet from her face and she smiled widely, the deranged look on her face would have made a small child cry.

"Sorry to cut the reunion short." She laughed and set to heal Itachi from the brink of death, but sapped out his remaining chakra. She struck him in a few places, paralyzing his arms legs. "If you attempt to activate your sharingan, I will know. I planted a tick inside you that will explode on my command, thus killing you. Just be grateful that I did not rip out your eyes. If you try to interfere, I will make you watch as I tear your brother limb from limb. You could have easily killed Sasuke, yet you chose not to. There are many things I know Itachi, yet many that I do not." She spoke softly into his ear, almost as if to a lover.

There was a shattering noise as Sasuke broke through his barrier and stood up, fury written all over his eyes. Sakura lowered the wall of wind and created a smaller one around Itachi.

"Who the hell are you?" Sasuke spat.

"I am someone you have earned unimaginable wrath and hatred from." She spoke with a deadly smile, the only part of her face he could see. The storm above roared with thunder and lightning cracked through the sky. He narrowed his eyes at her, and she slowly raised her hand and lowered her hood. Her sword was laced with the blood of the Brute, and she thought she might as well add Sasuke's blood. She raised her sword until it was pointing directly at him.

"Konoha still thinks you are able for redemption. But I know better. Sasuke Uchiha, you know not true suffering. You are ignorant to the depths of pain I have witnessed. Soon, all will know, and the world will laugh at the fool that you are. Are you prepared to witness a perfect storm?" She was smiling from ear to ear now, giddy and eager to attack.

* * *

><p><em>"That bitch. She's ruining everything." Tobi hissed.<em>

_"It seems a new set of cards has been dealt. A new battle to witness." Zetsu spoke._

* * *

><p>im probably gonna get a shit storm of crap from this, but hey, ive read stories that have far more ridiculous plots and ways that sasuke was brought backreintroduced/how sakura got him etc i do not believe sakura is "overpowered" in this, she is a smart cookie and this sakura is actually applying it to fights and taking advantage of opportunities, capiche? but dont worry (i guess), her luck will run out as she is now trusting the emotion of anger (more like being forced lol) , and we all know how reckless one can get from their anger

this chapter is kinda confusing, but the next one will reveal more details and thoughts from other characters, and will clear up alot of confusion i have been getting from readers, so sit tight!

sorry for ranting and if i sound kinda bitchy, i do take time out of my life to sit down and write this, and mostly i get reviews that tell me how much a suck is all

and hey, is it to much to ask for a few reviews from new people? i have over 600 visitors to this story, and only like...30 reviews?


	7. The Vulture

Name: Sakura Haruno

Hair Color: Pink

Eye Color: Green

Rank: Genin

Team Number: Seven

Team Mates: Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, Kakashi Hatake (Team Leader)

Team Notes: Placed on team to balance out Sasuke's strength and to compensate Naruto's stupidity

Abilities: Basic Knowledge gained in Academy

Notes: Scored highest among graduates, unhealthy infatuation with Sasuke Uchiha, shows little promise as a kunoichi, recommend career as teacher at Academy

_Second Report Issued by Request of Hokage_

Name: Sakura Haruno

Hair Color: Pink

Eye Color: Green

Rank: Special Chunin

Team Number: Seven (no longer active member)

Team Mates: Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha (defected), Kakashi Hatake (Team Leader)

Team Notes: None (see report 00045387)

Abilities: Medical Jutsu, Super Strength (learned under Tsunade), Self Taught several Taijutsu (needs further observation), Self Taught Long Sword fighting style, Reported to have ninjutsu, Wind Elemental Style, Learned Stealth as Special Hunter

Notes: has killed two S-Rank Akatsuki Criminals (further investigation pending), joined Yusei's Hunters under special circumstances, drastic change in personality (has passed psychology tests so far, third test pending), loyalty to village questionable

* * *

><p><em>"Sasuke-kun! Do you wanna go out on a date?"<em>

_"Hn." _

_"Sasuke-kun, do you wanna spar?"_

_"Like you could touch me, useless."_

_"Sasuke-kun, do you wanna finish that kiss?"_

_"You're annoying."_

Sakura's sword sliced sideways and Sasuke blocked it with his own sword. He charged it with his chidori and struck, Sakura used her own wind power with full force to slow his attack to a crawl and knocked the sword out of his hand. All of her training as a Hunter told her she should have taken him out then, she saw the window were she could easily paralyze him then knock him out. But she ignored it, a sadistic smile split her face in two. Every cell in her body was raging for Sasuke to suffer more.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, he was frustrated and getting even more so by the second. Sakura was surprised that he still had so much left in him to fight. His fist struck Sakura's abdomen, but she ignored the blow and the resulting pain to her kidneys, and grabbed his wrist. She squeezed as hard as she could and relished in Sasuke's outcry of pain when she heard a faint crack.

'What the fuck happened to her?' Sasuke cursed after he was freed, and took several steps back. He remembered she prized her hair when they were younger, and now it hung pitifully around her head, she obviously hadn't washed it in a long time or brushed it. Red streaks that resembled blood randomly highlighted her hair, and her green eyes had darkened considerably in shade and seemed to be hard like stone. She stood still, her eyes set eagerly to his and that smile, it freaked him the hell out.

"Since you are so keen to taijutsu at the moment, let's have a friendly little match." Sakura spoke, her pupils tiny little specks against her hard green eyes which grew wide as she tossed her sword aside. She shrugged out of her robe, revealing the Anbu armor underneath, and she wore an odd belt at her waist with two rings attached. Sasuke noted how she lacked the tattoo, so she wasn't that much of a threat, he concluded.

He soon retracted that when her foot shot up in a graceful arc and he barely managed to dodge it, the very air where her foot landed seemed to break. She spun around and her other foot came towards him. He saw this coming and ducked, and uppercutted his former team mate. Her head flew backward, then snapped back down, her eyes set into a great fury and her mouth clenched into a snarl. It was if she was transforming into a demon. Her fist flew down and Sasuke blocked it easily, and she opened her hand into an open palm, lightly pushing against his arm. All it did was push him back until his heels dug into the ground below.

Sasuke smirked, until he saw her take an odd stance. He dodged the attack at the last minute, only a small portion of her finger caught his back and it was enough to send a jolt of pain through his back and it impeded his retreat for a second. His teeth were clenched together now, he was getting his ass handed to him by_ Sakura. _His Sharingan whirled into action and he spun around, mimicking Sakura's attacks of the Black Monk Style. Blasts of chakra shook the air as their attacks hit one another. Sakura's brow furrowed in concentration as each attack she threw out he would copy to a tee. She wound backwards and switched quickly between Bak Si Lim and Tai Chi Chaum style. Again, he copied her attacks and her simple strategy failed.

'Dammit, I should have studied the Sharingan!' She cursed inwardly. Her eyes locked onto his and in an instant, she was falling. She landed in the blasted field Dark-Sakura had called her domain. Anger had moved in, and the sky was a blood red shade of rage, dotted with blinding white stars. Sasuke was standing a few feet away, observing her conscious with a masked expression. His eyes scanned the area and he saw a cherry blossom tree not far off, it was barren and looked like a twisting skeleton, the howl of wind created an ominous hum over the field. Sakura remained still as the area changed, and they were standing atop the massive vulture. The ghost of Dark-Sakura was sitting around it's neck grasping reins and steering the bird. Below was the familiar village of Konoha in flames. Buildings were crumbling to dust, fire and smoke created black pillars in the sky and screams of pain and torture could be heard. The faces of the Hokage had been blasted away and Sakura understood then that this vision was what Dark-Sakura had beheld so long ago.

The vulture began to descend and was brought into a clean stop on top of the mountain, and the second world melted away and the storm clouds erupted around them. In between the two former team mates was a girl with long pink hair and wide jade green eyes whimpering from a large gash in her chest, held to the ground by twisting tree roots. Saskue raised and eye brow at this, he was surprised by the state of the girls conscious, as he expected teddy bears and unicorns. The area around them shifted, and a black figure rose up in front of Sasuke, outlined by a white line. A mouth ripped apart from the spectre and a low feral growl bubbled up from it's chest.

"GET OUT!" It bellowed like some beast from hell. They were whirling forward and at once, the real world was around them once more. Sasuke's face was distorted into confusion, curiosity, and surprise.

"How did you do that?" Sasuke asked quietly.

"I'm fulla surprises." Sakura smirked. Wind erupted like geishers from the ground, the pressurized wind would have smashed a regular person into a perfect square. Sasuke counterattacked with fire that wrapped into the wind, Sakura strengthened the cyclones that roared, from a distance they would have looked like god had reached down and touched the earth with his fingers. The wind expanded until Sakura lost control, and it exploded with ear shattering force. Sakura was sent flying back and remnants from the fire sprayed her face. Sasuke managed to regain his feet and smirked as Sakura struggled to her feet. 'She can't even control her own chakra.' He smirked. If he was at his full form and not tired from his battle with Itachi, she would have been dead a long time ago.

He smirked wider when he sensed them arrive, and his head turned to see the team of six arrive. His own team had managed to be taken out earlier by Sakura, so he'd probably have to deal with them himself. They had been there to see the fire warp into the cyclones, and Naruto looked on edge, and he leaned forward when he saw Sakura go flying back.

"Look!" Hinata pointed, her eyesight could easily pick up what the rest of the group had glanced over. Itachi, sitting down covered by a wall of chakra. Kiba's jaw dropped open and even Shino was surprised. Naruto's eyes slowly traveled to Sasuke, who was bruised from his earlier fight. The Uchiha turned his full attention to the blonde, his real opponent all along.

Sakura landed near the Uchiha she had manged to capture, Itachi was watching her with a blank expression. Sakura threw him a glare as she stood up. The clouds above rumbled and growled, lighting twisted from the clouds but did not reach down to the earth. Her veins iced over when she spotted Narutp and his team mates. The Kyuubi holder and the Uchiha were having a staring contest and rage unfolded with full force inside the pinkette. She had been Sasuke's opponent, but once Naruto arrived, she was nothing.

'I'm always nothing to you, aren't I!' Sakura screamed in her head.

"She is getting distracted." The Second Hunter said to the leader.

"She is letting her emotions get the best of her." The Leader agreed. There were several times when she could have easily slipped around his attacks and landed a paralyzing strike against his limbs, thus incapacitating him. The most obvious when she first struck, yet she choose to have a drawn out fight against him. She would ultimately loose if she did not end the battle soon.

Sasuke began to speak, but Sakura did not hear the words, the world moved in slow motion as she ran to her feet, and she felt as if she was walking through wet concrete. She picked her sword up from where she had discarded it, Sasuke was still ignoring her for the blond. Pressurized wind exploded from the blade as she ran at the raven haired man. Sasuke spun around when she was close, smirking from ear to ear, his Sharingan whirling, lightning erupted from his own blade. Their swords meet with a loud screech of noise, their respective elements dueling. Sakura glared back at Sasuke. Before her eyes, his sharingan seemed to transform into a weird pinwheel type design. Sakura's eyes widened in astonishment, and barely registered the sword that was driven through her chest. She fell to her knees only reluctantly, her sword clattered to the ground pitifully as the last burst of wind died away. The barrier over Itachi flickered as Sakura spat out blood.

The world began to teeter on edge as her eyes rolled around her head and she felt the last rush of life leave her body. The last thing she saw was the other two Hunters grab Itachi when two Akatsuki cloaked men appeared.

* * *

><p><em>Sakura opened her eyes in the Void, the Tempest that had been stirring was gone and her mind was still. She waited, no, expected, to hear another voice speak up in her mind and command her like a puppet. There was only silence. She was still bound by the bone like roots to solid ground. Her spine ached from sitting still like that for so long, and her arms were asleep. The side of her face resting against the ground was numb, and her eyes darted down.<em>

_There was a large gaping hole were her heart should have been._

* * *

><p>Fire crackled from the pit Kiba had dug up earlier. The two Hunters were not far off patrolling the grounds of their camp. Shino and Hinata had put up barriers and genjutsu against any invading ninja, but the two Hunters preferred to patrol the area for good measure. Naruto sat next to Itachi, whose legs and arms were still paralyzed. It had been weird seeing the Leader of the Hunter team pick up Itachi like a doll and run through the forest to escape the pursuing Zetsu. They managed to throw the monster man off their trail, but they were all on high alert in case he came back.<p>

From his seat, Naruto could see the unconscious Sakura, her chest was bound tightly by several layers of gauze that Hinata had brought along. Both her and Sai had managed to stop the bleeding, but they had to rush her to a near by village were a medic healed her back from the brink of death. Naruto shifted a little, it was all so surreal having Itachi sitting next to him staring off into space.

"So, uh, how come your'e so...calm about this all?" Naruto asked after clearing his voice.

"I am just seeing where this takes me." Itachi replied clearly. "Your team mate managed to pick up on my heart condition and healed it as if I had a cold." He commented.

"Huh? Oh yeah, Sakura's a great healer. She always had it on her to save lives, not take them. Well, until a few years ago, that is." Naruto grumbled.

"She had a moment in the fight when she could have easily defeated my brother, yet she ignored it." Itachi continued.

"Oh." Naruto said. When he saw Sakura fall and felt her chakra flicker away from the plane of existence, he flipped shit. He charged at Sasuke ready to beat his old friend into a pulp, when the two Akatsuki guys arrived. One in a mask took Sasuke away while the plant like guy tried to take Itachi. "I thought I knew her, but when I saw the expression on her face today, and how she's behaved for the last two years. I felt like I was dealing with a second Sasuke." Naruto spoke up.

"Sounds like you need to have a long talk with her." Itachi stated and Naruto nodded. He realized he was talking to Itachi Uchiha about his feelings and decided he should pinch himself once he got back to Konoha to make sure he wasn't asleep.

Sakura swan on the edge of consciousness for the three and a half days it took to get back to Konoha. She heard snatches of conversation from the Team that escorted her back to the village, and could pick up on faint smells. Her eyes glued shut and refused to open. 'See no evil.' Ran through her head once when she tried to push them open.

The next time she returned to consciousness, she registered that she was on something soft and heard a faint beeping noise, and the scent of cleaner and anesthetic reached her nose. Her eyes flickered open to look at the hospital ceiling. She sat up and regretted the decision, her entire body was sore and she let out a gasp of pain and collapsed back onto the bed.

"Eager to get back up?" A voice said in amusement. Her head lifted up and she saw Yusei standing at the foot of her bed. He looked out of place in the all white room, wearing black close and his yellow tinted skin. He picked up the clipboard slung to the bed frame and flipped through its pages tsking.

"What happened?" She asked her voice came out surprisingly clear and calm.

"Sasuke Uchiha impaled you with his sword in your chest. You lost half of your weight in blood and the female Hyuuga kept you alive long enough using the supplies in your medical belt. You managed to live after several transfusions from the Hokage herself. Itachi Uchiha was brought in and is under strict surveillance. The Fire Lord decided the Hokage could proceed with how she treats him. You also managed to kill one of Sasuke's team mates and seriously injure one. They followed the Team of Six and are currently in Konoha under questioning as well." Yusei ran through the situation.

"Where's my stuff?" Sakura asked. Yusei pointed to the counter next to her and her eyes traveled to it. Her cloak was wrapped in a neat square and her mask rest on top of it, her sword was missing and she realized who ever saved her must have forgotten to grab it. Her eyes traveled back up to the ceiling and she gritted her teeth, fighting back tears. "I couldn't do it, Yusei. I couldn't kill Saskue Uchiha after all of that training." She spoke through a small sob of defeat. Yusei placed the clipboard back and strolled around the room to look out of the window.

"I could see it in you the first day I meet you. That your greatest fight was not with the Uchiha but with yourself." He spoke up as if discussing the weather.

"Did I win?" Sakura chuckled bitterly, remembering the fight she had against Dark-Sakura in the field of blasted flowers years ago.

"Your path has not ended yet, Haruno. You are only sixteen, we have yet to see your destiny. This was merely round one." Yusei said. Sakura frowned and wiggled herself upward until she was sitting, ignoring the dull ache it caused. Did he mean against Sasuke, or against herself? "I do not intend to let you leave the Hunters. So do not even ask. I have a mission for you." He turned around.

"A mission? In my condition?" Sakura looked at him as if he were crazy.

"Yes, you are perfect for the mission. Kind of spooky, how things worked out. The Hokage is hiding something in regards to Itachi and the Uchiha massacre. Or rather, the Third is. I served under him at that time and have no knowledge of it as he choose not to tell me. Now that I have found a way around the Hokage, I am still at a loss for the information needed." He began. "I want you to find out what Konoha is hiding from the world about the prized Uchiha Clan." He said.

"You want me to figure out the reason Itachi killed his clan." Sakura clarified and he nodded. "If you asked two years ago I could have easily gotten it for you." Sakura grumbled.

"Maybe." He said.

"Why don't you just ask Itachi?" Sakura asked. Yusei was silent and just stared at Sakura and she sighed, of course, he had said earlier that he was not permitted to. "Alright, I'll get on it once I'm allowed out of the hospital." Sakura said.

"Excellent. I'll leave and once I do the staff and the Hokage will be alerted that you have awoken, and I predict that your first official visitor will be that loud blond boy." He turned and made his way to the door. "Oh," he paused and dug around in his pockets and fished out her belt with the rings attached and tossed it over to her. She caught it easily and held the chain dangling from her fingers. He smiled once more at her and left.

The pinkette observed the rings, running them through her fingers. Here she was, once again observing the remains of her life. The split personalities were all dead, it seemed. In her mind she could still feel bound to the earth by the roots missing a large part of her torso and wondered what this could mean. Her plan of action all but exploded in her face, but she could not go back to how she was before. She raised her head and looked outside at the baby blue sky, the familiar skyline of Konoha greeted her. It was not over. Yusei was correct in his observation, her path had not ended, but forked off in another direction like it had when she was fourteen and decided to become a Hunter.

'I feel nothing for this village. But I have no cause to leave. Sasuke, you have proved a worthy foe, the fight is not over. When we meet again, I will kill you. But there is something bigger waiting for me to find it, it may be tied to you, it may not be. All I know is that I no longer exist for you.' She vowed and let the chain slip through her fingers and fall to the soft blanket.

The door flew open and she jumped. Naruto flung himself into the room, Sai was close behind as was Kakashi. Tsunade waltzed in followed by Shizune, and shoved Naruto out of Sakura's face who was babbling on about seeing Sakura fight the way she did.

"Alright brats, try not to cause her stress." Tsunade groped her way toward the clipboard Yusei had flipped through earlier. "You suffered internal damage and bleeding to your kidneys, nothing I couldn't fix though, as well as a stab wound to the chest-"

"A stab wound! He drove the sword right through her!" Naruto interrupted but was quieted by a hellish look from the brown eyed woman.

"Ahem, anyway, you lost a half of your blood, but Hinata over here managed to stop the bleeding. You also suffered from several fractures to your ribs, as well as a slight concussion." Tsunade finished. "Not bad considering you took on an Uchiha and managed to cripple another." Tsunade smiled, and pride in her former student surface. 'They just don't give up.' Sakura thought and smiled lightly back.

"Well, I'll just leave you and your team." Tsunade said, but Sakura could tell she'd receive a talk from her old mentor, and she departed with Shizune who smiled kindly at Sakura before she left.

"Wow Sakura, I walk halfway into your battle and you've summoned tornadoes against Sasuke that EXPLODE!" Naruto burst out and Sakura crept backward.

"Can you tone down the volume a little?" She asked and Naruto paused, smiling sheepishly.

"I'm very impressed as well Sakura. You've prooved us all wrong." Kakashi smiled from behind his mask and Sai nodded at her, his expression did not change.

"Er, Sakura. Were you okay out there, during the fight? You seemed...really angry." Naruto said.

"That's just my expression. I was getting frustrated as the fight dragged out." Sakura responded, choosing her words carefully. Naruto nodded and glanced outside. She could tell Naruto was holding in something that he did not want to say in front of Sai or Kakashi, which scared her as usually he would pour out his entire soul to random strangers. "So...what's the mission report for you guys? What's up with Itachi?" Sakura asked casually.

"He's being held in the cells below the Hokage Tower with strict Anbu security and is receiving interrogation from Ibiki, as well as Tsunade herself." Kakashi spoke up, and his orange book materialized in his hands, a sign he had gotten bored. Sakura knew were the room was and made note to stop by there before her own little investigation began. Naruto's eyes landed on her makeshift belt with the rings attached and he frowned, and Sakura decided she might as well listen to his speech about friendship.

"Naruto, you're really quiet, is something wrong?" Sakura asked after heaving a large sigh. 'Oh no, she's done it now.' Kakashi thought as he flipped the page on his book and Sai looked interested for once, as he wanted to see how the bond between his friend and the pink haired girl worked.

"Well, yes. I was talking with Itachi about this earlier-"

"What?"

"Anyway, you've changed drastically in these past two years. You were more or less the same when I came back from training with Jiraiya personality wise, but after you came back from your mission to Suna, you became...weird! First you abandon Team Seven by becoming a Hunter and set out alone to try and stop Sasuke when we both said we'd do it together! You even stop caring about that Ino girl, I mean she is mean and all but I thought you'd care more about her, and you even abandoned me. You can't fight this thing alone Sakura-chan, let us help." Naruto said all in one breath, his voice rising in volume with each word. Sakura was quiet for a few seconds, the pieces to her response clicking into place one by one.

"You got advice from Itachi. Think about that for a minute," She said quietly, "and I haven't abandoned any one, I've been busy being an actual ninja, not running around trying to befriend mass murderers. And I don't need anyone's help, I'm perfectly capable of doing things on my own. Not everyone is like you Naruto were they're born with vast amounts of power, some of us have to actually work tooth and nail for it. So just do yourself a favor and leave me alone." Her voice did not change and remained small and quiet as she spoke.

Naruto looked furious, hurt, and confused. Above all he was disturbed, as she sounded exactly like Sasuke before he left the village.

The door swung open as a nurse poked her head inside and shooed the three men out as she had been alerted to high stress levels from the various machines Sakura was hooked up to. The pinkette could have kissed the woman for driving away the awkward situation and spent the rest of the day in peace and quiet. The second day she awoke to her parents bickering about leaving the window open or not. They brought her a change of close and she gladly switched out of the hospital gown and into fresh clean sweats and a tshirt. A ward swung in later and asked why she did not have any flowers or get well soon cards and Sakura could only shrug, she dug her own grave on that part and replied that there were worse things in the world than not getting balloons. She was released on the fourth day and was given a serious of pain medicine to take, and she should be in tip top shape in a week or so.

She felt odd greeting her room once more, as since she was on leave there was no reason for her to go to the barracks. Her room had a small coat of dust on it and she felt hurt a little bit that her parents had forgotten about her so easily. Around noon the next day she sat on the couch in the living room and remembered she had a mission to do. She got up, told her mother she was going to go visit a friend, and left after putting on her shoes and grabbing a jacket.

She noticed people glanced at her when she passed, and at first wrote it off as paranoia, but it was happening to frequently to be a coincidence. She stopped on an intersection and pretended to be busy trying to fix the zipper and caught a conversation going on near by between two whispering middle aged women.

"Yeah, that's the one, I recognize her pink and red hair. Bad highlight job. They say she brought in Itachi Uchiha with out getting a scratch." One said all knowingly to the other.

"I heard that she survived being stabbed in the heart and killed an Akatsuki member like he was just a genin while Asuma Sarutobi was killed." The other said, horrified by the very idea.

"She's a freak just like that Uzumaki boy. To powerful for her own good." The other shook her head.

Sakura frowned and continued on, deciding walking the streets was not a good idea and it would be best to stick to roof top travel from now on. One thought ran through her head as she reached the Hokage tower. _'They fear me.' _She kept walking and ignored the secretary once more and made her way up to Tsunade's office. She decided it'd be more beneficial if she was on speaking terms with the Hokage once more and the woman believed that Sakura was her little pet again, it would make her new mission a lot easier as well. She knocked on the door once before she heard a muffled come in.

Tsunade was sitting behind several towers of paperwork and Shizune was scrambling around picking up pieces of paper from several more that stood on the ground. The blonde peeked her head from around the paper work and beamed.

"Well, there you are Sakura, I could feel you coming and my irate secretary called as well. Come in, come in, make yourself at home." Tsunade said. Sakura carefully eased herself around the stacks of paper work to take a seat, and decided then that Tsunade took her bringing in Itachi as reason enough to be friends again. "What is it you want?" Tsunade asked after taking a large gulp out of a sake bottle.

"Er, if you don't mind me asking, what is all this?" Sakura gestured.

"Some of it has to deal with Itachi, some are letters from other Kage asking how it was managed, and to top it all off, we're in the middle of organizing another cunin exam." Tsunade finished with a growl.

"Oh. But I came here to ask if I could speak to Itachi Uchiha." Sakura said. "In private." She added. Shizune stopped her running around and Tsundae peeked from around the papers once more.

"What for?" She asked. Sakura thought quickly.

"When I healed him I noticed he was suffering from a heart condition. I managed to cure it, but my guess is that it was only temporary. It was so severe I want to know how he managed to live so long with it and how it affected him on the battlefield, as well as examine his heart." Sakura said. Tsunade looked genuinely surprised and impressed.

"Alright, it can be arranged. I'll talk to Ibiki about it and report here tomorrow at the same time." Tsunade said. Sakura nodded and said goodbye, smiling before she left. No doubt Tsunade had been happy to say 'report here' once more, and that Sakura still showed signs as being a devoted medic. Truth be told, Sakura could give two shits about Itachi and his heart condition.

Across the village, Naruto sat in his living room. The TV was on but ignored as Naruto made his way around the living room armed with a duster and cleaning out the small coat that had settled during his absence. He paused by the bookcase he kept that was filled with a few text books from his days in the academy, childhood picture books, cook books, and a few volumes of Jiraiya's "novels" given to him by the Pervy-Sage for his birthday last year. He picked up the picture frame he kept there and carefully dusted it. He sighed at the picture before returning it.

A few times he had doubted if Team Seven would ever exist again, it seemed as if it was constantly tearing itself apart, even from day one. But he was determined to see it happy and whole again, like in the picture. The words Sakura spoke in the Hospital a few days ago would have deterred any regular person, but Naruto cracked a smile.

'Sorry Sakura-chan, I didn't give up on you when we were kids and I'm not gonna give up on you now.' He said and finished his small cleaning. Whatever Sakura was going through, he'd still be there even if she punched and kicked him to make him go away, nor would he leave Sasuke. They both needed a friend in the world, as he had never meet anyone as lonely as them other than in himself.

* * *

><p>Sakura awoke the next day earlier and took a jog around Konoha. When she got back there was a pain in her kidneys and a pressure in her chest so she took several of the pain meds. It felt as if she had been gone from the village for a few years, and she took a stroll to the library after breakfast. The Librarian greeted her the same as always and helped her exchange books. Sakura was just glad that she did not make her pay the late fines. She spent the rest of the morning reading and went back home around noon, placing her new books on her bed and wrapping her medical belt around her waist for good measure.<p>

She set out toward the Hokage tower, this time taking the rooftop approach, wearing a red tank top with her clan's symbol on the back and shorts that stopped mid thigh with black opened toed sandals. She looped her small chain belt with her two rings attached so it fell somewhat below her medical belt. Tsunade was in her office, and the colony of paper work seemed to have shrunk a little when Sakura arrived. The Hokage informed her that Ibiki had been a little complacent about her examining him alone, but in the end agreed.

Sakura made her way to the cells below the Hokage Tower. They were largely unused, built originally to hold top secrete political prisoners back in the days when the village was founded. Kakashi hadn't been kidding when he said Itachi was put under strict survillence, there were thirty Anbu alone stationed in the hall way outside the Uchiha's room, with ten Hunters patrolling the other hall ways. She picked up several active jutsu's, mostly to drain Itachi's chakra and pick up outside intruders.

"Sakura Haruno, no need to identify yourself, I recognize you." Ibiki said gruffly when she arrived at the door. Her bag was searched, and Ibiki muttered something about security measures. Sakura just shrugged through it all and was finally let in. She expected to see a cell with iron bars and damp floors with a stiff cot. Instead she found what could have passed as a regular bedroom, complete with it's own bathroom off to the side through another door. Itachi was sitting on a small chair reading and looked up, his eyes off from her own by an inch or so from his poor vision.

"Oh, its you. I was expecting Ibiki again. I don't get very many visitors." He said lightly.

"You kinda killed everyone that would want to visit." Sakura said and Itachi gave her a sarcastic smile.

"If they sent you to interrogate me about Akatsuki business, tell them I've told them as much as I can." He said.

"I'm not here for that, I'm here to examine your heart to determine if the heart disease will return, or if there are trace amounts of it." Sakura spoke clearly and her hands flew together rapidly forming several hand signs. "I'll just need you to relax and breath deeply so it work." She said before a small translucent bubble of chakra expanded from her hands and wrapped around the room. "So they wont hear what I'm really here for. Yusei has cause to believe the reason you killed your family may be hidden in the Uchiha compound, or those in charge of the village know. Through a serious of odd mixups, he was unable to find out how and has since been put out of the loop." She said.

"You want me to tell you why?" Itachi raised and eye brow and Sakura nodded. "Maybe I would if you did examine my heart." Itachi smirked playfully and the pinkette gritted her teeth.

"Fine, lay down." She said and began to root through her medical belt. The Uchiha got up and made his way to the bed and lay down calmly and closed his eyes as if getting ready to take a nap.

"I was wrong when I said I did not get visitors. Your teammate Naruto visits me often." He spoke when Sakura drug the chair over to his side and took as seat.

"No, you said you did not get very many visitors. You were correct." Sakura replied in a smart-ass tone and the corner of Itachi's mouth twitched. She placed her hands above his heart and channeled green energy through his system. She closed her eyes and gradually a map of his heart and surrounding arteries lit up in her mind, she noticed the chakra tick she implanted in him was still kicking. There was mild scarring on his tissue, she noted, from were the virus had attacked. This probably went on until he became aware of it and took medication to curb it. His body had built up a tolerance to the drug up to a point were it had little affect. He would have died from the disease in less than three months if she had not treated it. She focused her chakra to the areas were the virus had corroded and concentrated. After twenty minutes and a large drain in her chakra, the areas were as good as new.

"You would have died very slowly and painfully in at least three months if the virus was left untreated, but your brother would have killed you by then. Good news is that I've healed the tissue that was damaged by the virus, but I believe it is hereditary and may come back if the conditions are right." Sakura explained and got up, placing the chair back. Itachi opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling for a while before sitting up.

"If you can heal that well then why are you a Hunter?" He asked.

"Because I want to be one. I could fix your eyes, but I'd need to know every detail about the sharingan, and I doubt you'll give that up." Sakura smirked and the look that flickered across Itachi's face confirmed her assumption. She recreated the sound proof bubble as it had disappeared when she had been focusing on his heart. "If the information I'm looking for is hidden in the upper crust of Konoha, do you know were to find it?" She asked.

"I would assume that it is tucked away safely in Danzo's office." Itachi spoke.

"Danzo?" Sakura asked in surprise. Itachi's face darkened as he nodded.

"I never liked Root. He is one to watch." He said icily. That meant that Sakura would have to infiltrate Root, and she did not look forward to that. "If you do find out, you may look at Konoha in a different way. Do not." He added. Sakura nodded and retracted the sound bubble.

"Thank you for your time, Itachi-san." She said and gave a slight bow before she left. She reemerged to the city streets, her mind a jumble of words. How on earth was she going to sneak into Root? As she flew across the rooftops, her mind traveled to what Naruto had said in the hospital a week ago. 'You can't fight this thing alone.' She smirked as she remembered the emotionless boy who replaced Sasuke, who just happened to be apart of Root.

* * *

><p>kinda a short battle in the beginning, but im not a fan of long fights. i took the path i thought was reasonable, and if you disagree oh well. idk why it took me so long to update, i knew what i wanted to do, it was more of laziness than anything lol<p>

reviews would be much appreciated, as they help motivate authors more than alerts and faves, but they help too lol :)


	8. Into the Dirt

Sai found a nice spot in the shade on the ledge of a building, flipping through his sketch book and finding a blank page, he set to sketching the skyline of Konoha. He became absorbed in perfecting the way the shadow played across the mountain in the distance he did not notice when a figure appeared behind him. Sakura Haruno waited patiently for him to notice her for a good five minutes, then cleared her throat. The boy turned around slowly and raised his eyebrows at her.

"I've learned that it is rude to approach some one unannounced." He said and turned back to his drawings. Sakura threw a kunai and he easily dodged the attack, arcing over the stone pillar he sought shelter from the sun under and landed on the other side, his expression muted as he furiously scribbled across the page. Lions bounded out of the paper and Sakura froze, taken aback. She barely had time to duck under their swipes and realized he must be employing some sort of ninjutsu. With the absence of a sword she had to make due with her raw strength once more, and a few good punches dissolved the ink creatures into air.

"I'm not here to fight you, Sai. From what I've learned you have grown close to Naruto and Kakashi. I need your help with something if you wish to stay their friend." Sakura said. Sai's eyes narrowed at her.

"What do you mean?" He questioned slowly.

"If I gave the word to Tsunade or even Yusei, that you are still a Root spy and have been feeding Danzo information about Naruto and the Village, you will be expelled from Team Seven and handed back to Root." Sakura said casually. Sai's face darkened as he stared her down.

"Naruto has said great words about you, that you are a strong kunoichi and a loyal friend. But for all purposes, you are the most horrible person I've ever meet." He spat.

"So you do have emotions. Great. I'll take that as a yes?" Sakura smiled, completely ignoring his insult. He nodded slowly. "Excellent. I need your help infiltrating Root." Sakura said. Sai's face went blank once more and there was a hint of surprise on his face.

"I can't help you. It is impossible." He said and turned. A barrier formed around him, impeding his movements and he spun around as Sakura lowered her hand.

"You will help me infiltrate Root, Sai, or there will no longer be a third member of Team Seven." She spoke as if she was commanding him. Somthing dawned over Sai and he smiled slightly.

"Alright, I'll help you, but only if you rejoin Team Seven." He said lightly. The barrier around him broke as Sakura was overcome with surprise this time herself, before she gritted her teeth.

"I can't. I'm a Hunter now." She said slowly through clasped teeth.

"Sure you can. I'm still apart of Root but also Team Seven. If getting into Root is not impossible in your book then I don't see why rejoining Team Seven is." He said and smiled wider. It freaked Sakura out.

"Fine. I'll speak to Yusei about it." She sighed with defeat, he was the only person that could help her, and she could tell he would not budge. Besides, he did not make her sign anything so she did not have to keep her word.

"Great. I'll make sure you do." He said and his eyes burrowed into her's for a few second, then he smiled again. "What is it you want to die for?"

"I need information of the Uchiha Massacre. I was informed that the only surviving copy of the report is inside Danzo's office." Sakura explained.

"Danzo's office? Hm. It will be hard...I'll need time to plan. Are you sure it is in his office?" Sai asked and Sakura nodded.

"I'll be able to get you any resources needed." She added as Sai was deep in thought.

"I wont be able to tell you the plan, as my curse seal may activate and keep me from talking. But once inside I will be able to show you the way. You'll just have to be on high alert, and I may have to get you a uniform to disguise yourself." He thought out loud and crossed his arms.

"Just make it happen. I'll give you two days to think of a plan." She said before disappearing into a blur of pink and red.

* * *

><p>Zetsu observed the sword he had picked up from the ground at the battlefield several weeks ago. The blade was alabaster white and extremely sharp and embedded with designs of cherry blossom petals. The grip was wrapped with red silk and a white circle was adorned at the bottom, no doubt this sword could be considered a relic and belonged in a museum. The ninja he had seen drop it had been the Haruno girl, who slayed Sasori and Kakuzu. He highly doubted that, as she had easily been defeated by the Uchiha brat. His senses flared when he recognized the obvious shadow of death surround the kunoichi, as he had been hungry from watching the two fights. But his dinner had been snatched away right under his nose, not even the elder Uchiha was left.<p>

"What is that?" Konan had asked when he returned and Zetsu explained. Hidan had stared at the thing as if it were a bug that should be squashed. Konan had let the monster man keep it, but ordered next time he saw the girl, or any Akatsuki at that, to take the rings she had stolen.

"Why can't we kill her?" Kisame grumbled after observing the sword with a lack of real interest.

"Because they think she'll join us." Hidan growled and stomped away.

"I think she'd make a better meal." Zetsu said quietly.

When Zetsu toted into Sasuke's vision the first time, the young Uchiha huffed and turned his head away to look outside the window of the room he had been given. Tobi, or Madara, snapped at Zetsu to leave the object outside as Sasuke always shot it nasty glances. This Uchiha, Zetsu noted, was not unlike his brother, expect this one was darker than the first. He would not make a pleasant meal. He was also quiet like his brother, even more so after Madara explained the reason behind the Uchiha Massacre, except it was more of a muted rage.

"I will destroy every last woman, man, and child in Konoha!" He burst out suddenly so much so that his entire frame shook. There was the rage.

* * *

><p>Sakura spent the fourty-eight hours up to her mission studying the blue prints of Root's headquarters. It had been locked away in a top secrete section of the library with the rest of the blue prints of the village. She probably broke several laws by taking it, but so far it had gone unnoticed. From the history she picked up, the group had been disbanded for years, but Danzo operated it on his own. Yusei's Hunters had formed shortly after Root was supposed to break up. As a result, very few knew about the continued existence of the organization as the years passed, except for the heads of Konoha. Why they never did anything about this was a mystery to Sakura.<p>

On the third day she awoke at dawn and took her mandatory jog around Konoha. She made three laps before her kidneys began to hurt and she had to take the pain medication. She ate breakfast and made small talk with her mother, and the rest of the day she spent wandering around the house, glancing outside every once and a while. Her parents left for work so she did not have much to do other than read her books. Her mother came home an hour late and made Sakura do various chores around the house to keep her busy and showed her a red dress her mother picked up for her. Sakura raised her eyebrows at the short hem and plunging neckline but smiled when she received it. Her mother even had the tailor sow in their clan symbol in a row at the bottom.

Dinner passed by quickly as her father rambled on about his work. Sakura went up to her room and decided she'd find Sai. She climbed out onto her roof and searched the village for him. She frowned when she couldn't find him, until she heard footfalls behind her. Sai was smiling his weird smile that looked more like he was swallowing nails.

"Waiting until nightfall?" Sakura asked.

"Sort of, Danzo has a meeting with Tsunade to discuss how to proceed with Itachi. He should be gone for at least two hours, long enough for your mission. When do you plan to talk to Tsunade about rejoining Team Seven?" Sai asked, shuffling a bundle he had tucked away under his arms.

"Let's make it out alive from this and then we'll make appointments, alright?" Sakura smiled back and it was Sai's turn to be disturbed. He handed her an extra Root uniform of his and she swung back into her room to change, but doubted that Sai would care if she stripped in front of him. He'd probably make fun of her lack of any female assets. The belly shirt felt odd and she tugged on it a few times then pulled her hair into a tight bun and slipped on the cloak and a fox mask, rolling her eyes knowing Sai probably purposely choose that mask. She cast a longing glance at her own Hunter uniform folded on her desk, then shook her head. She reemerged and found Sai doodling the view of their house of Konoha. "I'm ready. Lead the way." Sakura motioned.

Sai nodded then moved into a blur. Sakura followed at her own speed. The night air was chilly as autumn was soon turning into winter, and she shivered at the sight of Sai's belly shirt. They reached Anbu HQ and masked their chakra as they slipped into a back entrance. The floor level was lit by fluorescent lights and looked like any regular office building. Sai wordlessly handed her a note and it this must be the point to were Sai had to remain silent. She unfolded the parchment quickly.

'Beware genjutsu, ninjutsu, guards, and spring loaded traps. Most of the Root are asleep at this time or out on missions, but that does not mean that we aren't safe.' Sakura read over the neatly written note and nodded before burning it with a simple jutsu. Sakura looked at her team mate and he nodded back and took off into a long stride. Sakura had to run to keep up with him, and several times they had to hide from Anbu walking about the base. Sai led her to a stair case hidden deep in the back of the floor level, and opened an iron padlocked door after performing a complicated series of hand signs. He motioned for her to slip in quickly and she scurried in as the door shut soon after he entered. It was dank and chilly in the stair well and cobwebs were spun in the corners.

Sai walked down the steps silently, taking three at a time and Sakura followed. She felt like a dog chasing after it's master and had to swallow her pride a few times. She did not like the silence that enveloped the stair well, she felt as if numerous eyes were following her every move. They finally stopped after countless flights of stairs in a surprisingly lit hall way. Sakura scanned the area for any chakra signatures and picked up nothing, but did notice several jutsu's in play. She did not dare to move a muscle and slowed her breath to a crawl. The silence pounded against her ears.

Sai's hand darted out and Sakura quickly caught the note he passed her and she unfurled it. 'As long as you keep your chakra hidden, most of the security jutsu's in play will not pick you up, but several will once we reach Danzo's office. There are three Root members around the corner talking, keep your hood up.' Sakura handed the note to him to burn as if she did her chakra would flare up. They slowly began their advance. Their footsteps echoed off the walls and Sakura observed the tiles from under her feet and almost chuckled. The tiles were hallowed and modified to amplify a person's footsteps. No doubt the Root members knew who was coming by the sound of their feet alone.

When they turned the corner, sure enough there were three Root members standing around talking. One laughed, and they paid no attention to them as they passed. Sakura gulped back her own tension and exhaled silently.

"Hey!" One called out and she froze along with Sai. He turned around and to avoid suspicion, so did Sakura.

"Yes?" Sai asked.

"Why did your chakra flare up back there?" One asked.

"I burned a drawing I found horrible." Sai lied smoothly, Sakura would have believed it was true if she had not known the truth. They then hounded him about his drawings and flipped through his sketch book before leaving him alone. One eyed Sakura when they turned away and paused to observe her when she turned around to continue following Sai. She could feel his eyes digging into the back of her head as she walked.

"Where are you guys going?" He spoke up and once again they stopped.

"I need to turn in a report and I'm showing this new recruit around." Sai once again lied.

"I did not know we had a new recruit." The other said, but the other one still looked suspicious of Sakura. The third one started talking to him and Sai and Sakura quickly made their escape around another corner. After they put a good distance between the group of three they stopped in another stair way when Sai handed her another note.

'He is following us, he suspects you. I'll perform a genjutsu that will distract him from us for only a short while before he notices it. We must hurry.' With rising panic Sakura handed the note back to him and they flew down the stair well into a lower level and paused for Sai to perform said genjutsu. They quickened their pace and her stomach began to do flips. This had been way to easy so far. When they were around the corner from Danzo's office, Sakura stopped dead in her tracks and the world swayed around her. She felt sick to her stomach and the world spun around her.

_'Genjutsu!' _She cursed. She felt a spinning sensation and her hands were like rubber, useless at her sides as they flailed around uselessly together to perform a breaking seal. She managed to miraculously, and had to regain her breath. Sai had not noticed her pause and he turned around ways away down the hallway, and a look of 'oh shit' passed over his face. He was next to her and handed her another note she read so quickly that at first it had been a jumble of words.

'That would have thrown you out of the base if you did not manage to break it. It has alerted the other awake Root members that there is someone here that should not be.' It read. She did not bother to hand it to him to burn and just shoved it into her pocket and they were practically running now. The door to Danzo's office was a simple redwood affair painted a light brown with a plaque drilled into it reading his name and head of Root. Sakura could pick up numerous jutsu's in place around the office and set to work with Sai to break them. It took them ten minutes to clear them all and Sai opened the door. He froze in the doorway and for a second Sakura feared that Danzo was sitting in his chair smiling at him. His hands moved together in a blur, breaking several more jutsu she did not pick up.

Slowly they moved in and closed the door. She locked it and employed several of her own jutsu's, a barrier covered the wood in a thick film. A floor above, Sakura could now sense the Root members scrambling around looking for the intruder, no doubt they'd soon make their way to Danzo's office and inform him in some way. The two scrambled around the office, shuffling through cabinet after cabinet. Sakura was begining to think it was not there, then her eyes landed on a drawer on Danzo's desk, a keyhole glimmered in the dim lighting.

Sai's eyes followed her and they crouched down on the floor. She doubted he would use a simple lock system to guard such an important report. Her hand rest against the cold wood of the desk and she channeled chakra into it, picking up several seals in action. The symbols for them glimmered under her touch and she worked to break them.

"They're almost here." Sai said. Sure enough, Sakura could feel them trickling down into this level. The second seal broke and she began her work on the third, and she heard distant footsteps of the Root members investigating every nook and cranny for her. Sakura bit her lip and she managed to break the last seal after much concentration and the drawer flew open. There were only three folders in here and she scanned their titles. She scanned their titles, and found the one she was looking for and tucked it away safely under her cloak.

"They're in his office!" A voice shouted. Sai's head snapped in her direction and genuine fear ran across his face. Sakura moved over the desk and hit him on the neck, he collapse to the ground and she performed a jutsu on him to make it look as if she had been controlling him. The door flew open and the Root member was bounced back by her barrier. Sakura ran right through it and a ball of wind energy exploded from her hand, creating a vortex spinning through the narrow hall way. The Root members were taken off guard and she darted toward the stair way, kicking wind from her heels the glide up the the upper level. She paused momentarily to create a barrier that would stop them only for a few seconds and she flew down the hall way, taking the way Sai had showed her. There were several ninja still there and they assaulted her. She threw her hands under her legs as she was flying along and pressurized wind stopped them in their tracks and they fell to their knees, stunned.

'Messy, messy, messy!' She screamed internally as she reached the ground level. A few Anbu paused to stare at her as she ran at top speed toward the exit, the shouts of Root members trailing behind her. Options of were she should go ran through her head. If she went to Tsunade, there was a good chance she'd run right into Danzo who could have her arrested. Her own base was not far off and she doubted if Root knew were it was. She threw off the fox mask as it was impairing her vision and not to mention irritating.

Wind shot out of her feet as she raced through the night time sky, the cloak fanned out around her and no doubt she resembled the great Vulture from her visions. She glided above the village walls and landed with a roll on the forest floor, jumping back to her feet as she began the ascent up the hill. The close packed trees proved not to be cloak friendly and she had to pause and rip it out of snagged branches and roots. She broke through the forest into the familiar clearing and ran toward the doors, throwing them open and shutting them quickly, her breath racing. Still not feeling safe until she was standing next to Yusei, she ran toward his office, and threw the door open without a knock. She performed a quick healing technique to catch her breath and restore her body to top tip shape.

"My goodness, what happened?" Yusei observed from his desk, smiling to himself.

"I just had to infiltrate Root and outrun allot of members." Sakura snapped, pulling out the brown manila envelope.

"My, my. They'll probably arrest you for it." Yusei chuckled.

"Whatever. I got the report for you. For some reason, Danzo had it. With what I just went through to get this, I want something in return." Sakura said, pointing at him with the file. His eyebrows shot up, but amusement never left his face.

"What is it?" He asked.

"I want you to train me." She stated.

"I already have." He frowned.

"No, what you taught me was basic knowledge you teach ever Hunter. I want you to teach me a few secretes of yours." Sakura smiled, tucking the envelope under her arm. She needed serious big guns for the next time she would run into Sasuke, as he would not be weakened next time. Yusei seemed to be thinking the situation over and tilted his head from side to side.

"Very well...you deserve it. I'll teach you three ninjutsu's of mine, as well as improve your speed because god knows, you need it." He tsked. Sakura was satisfied with the offer and handed him the file wordlessly. He took it hungrily and his finger slid across the sealing, breaking the glue seal perfectly. The thick packet of paper slid out and into his hands. "You may go to your room and rest. When I am done reading this I shall let you read it. You may need to lie low for a while anyway." He said and Sakura agreed. He barely registered her getting up and leaving as he quickly became absorbed into reading the texts.

Sakura collapsed onto her bed in her old room, and inhaled the scent of her pillow. She felt sorry for Sai and hoped he would not be punished, that they would believe he had been put under her control somehow. She was actually fond of the boy, even if he was irritating.

* * *

><p>She awoke groggily to a Hunter nin shaking her awake and for a split second she believed it to be a Root ninja and jumped to her feet brandishing a kunai in panic, but recognized the person's chakra and deflated. She was led silently to Yusei's office and inside she was surprised to see everyone was gathered there except for two Hunter's who were away on long term missions. Yusei himself was standing behind his desk, a grim expression distorted his features, as Sakura was used to him always having an amused smirk.<p>

"Thanks to the efforts of one of our comrades, I was able to get the report of the Uchiha Massacre from Root. It appears Itachi was ordered to kill his clan by Danzo and the other Konoha elders as the Uchiha were planning a coup against the Hokage. The Third however, did not aprrove." Yusei announced. Everyone was silent and a few exchanged glances. Sakura's jaw dropped and her mind buzzed.

'He was...ordered to? And he did it?' She shook her head a few time unable to process the information. 'This means it's all Danzo's fault. If they acted in a different way that did not lead to them all dying...then things...would be different.' She looked down, picturing the gaping hole in her chest from her visions. She looked up and locked eyes with Danzo.

"Do you know what this means?" She spoke in a deadpan voice and everyone turned to her.

"No. Please elaborate." Yusei said.

"It means several things. One, if we went public with this information then it would cripple Danzo and Root would effectively cease to exist as public opinion of him would plummet into to the dirt. Second, Itachi is still in an active mission. He did not kill every Uchiha, he left his brother alive which means he is still a ninja of Konoha. Third, Itachi would be pardoned of all crimes as it could be argued by a good lawyer he was acting for his mission and the Elders will be put before a tribunal. Fourth, the prominent clans such as the Hyuuga and others will grow suspicious and fearful of Konoha since it so mercilessly destroyed a clan, even if that clan was plotting against the village." Sakura explained, counting the reasons off of her fingers.

"I have thought about releasing it to the public, but factored in the reasons you said. The media would have a field day with this, as would rival villages and public opinion for the village as a whole will drop. I, however, did not think about Itachi in it all." Yusei said, pacing behind his desk. Sakura remembered Itachi told her not to think bad about the village after she found out, truth be told, she did not. It had been the slime ball Danzo that made the call, not the Third. Why Itachi listened to that man would be a mystery until Sakura could go ask the weasel himself. "We can use this information and hold it over Danzo's head, keep him in his place. We will have to keep an extra eye on him, I suspect something is up with him." Yusei added then and stared out his fake window that was playing a scene of a tropical beach.

Sakura and the others were dismissed, a few hung around to take a look at the report themselves. Sakura decided she'd read it later until she could stomach just Yusei's words. She changed her close as she had still been wearing the set Sai gave her, and she slipped her cloak over her head and placed her mask on and departed from the base. She hid her chakra as she made her way toward the Hokage tower, the village seemed calm enough, she noted. It was early in the morning and light frost blanketed the vegetation that would melt when the sun was completely over the horizon. She climbed through Tsunade's window, and the blonde woman was chipping away at the massive amounts of paper work hoarded around her desk, which seemed to have doubled since Sakura last saw it.

"Tsunade-sama." She cleared her throat and the Hokage jumped, spinning around in her chair and a fist clenched. Sakura threw the hood back and slid the mask up, her own hands flying up to block the punch.

"Oh, it's just you, what brings you here so early, and why are you wearing your Hunter uniform, you're still on leave for at least a month." The woman narrowed her eyes.

"I had to disguise myself from any Root members." Sakura crossed the room and made sure the door was locked and no one was outside.

"What-?"

"I just learned the real reason behind the Uchiha Massacre." Sakura said and turned around, crossing her arms. Tsunade's eyes took on an all knowing look and she sighed heavily.

"Sakura, you must understand that the Third made the call-"

"The Third? No, Danzo and the other Elders ordered Itachi to do it." Sakura interrupted her former sensei for a second time. Tsunade's eyes narrowed in confusion.

"Danzo? But I don't see...how did you find out?" Tsunade asked, flustered.

"A report Yusei stole from Root." Sakura said. "Isn't that stated on the official report?"

"No, the one I have states that the Third Hokage ordered it." The blonde woman said then set to shuffling through files in her desk.

"Well, who gave it to you?" Sakura crossed her arms smugly. A look of realization dawned over the Hokage as she slowly mouthed Danzo's name. "Why would he give you a false report?" Sakura tapped her chin with her index finger. The woman looked deep in thought for a moment.

"I will discuss this with the Elders when we meet later today to discuss how to carry forth with Itachi. I will need the report you have so I may assert my authority and give Itachi his due justice." Tsunade said and clasped her hands together on the desk.

"You'll have to ask Yusei about it, but I'll ask myself as well." Sakura said and turned to leave.

"Oh, Sakura, before you go, I spoke to Sai last night." Tsunade said and Sakura froze with her hand on the doorknob. "He mentioned something about a deal with you, and that he followed through with it. I did not ask what, but in return, you were to rejoin Team Seven." Tsunade smiled devilishly.

'Damn you, Sai!' Sakura cursed inwardly.

"I did not promise anything, I just said that I'd have to see, with what being in the Hunter's and all." Sakura said in a rush but the look in Tsunade's eyes said that Sakura was not getting out of this any time soon.

"I'll have Shizune go get Yusei for us, you stay right here, and when Yusei get's here, we'll discuss everything." Tsunade smiled triumphantly.

* * *

><p>Sakura leaned over the edge of her balcony at her home, she was on leave once more now that her mission under Yusei was complete, and Tsunade cleared any charges Root had placed against her as they identified her by the gusts of wind. No doubt Tsunade had confronted the Elders and Danzo at the meeting and was dealing with the fallout. Even before that, she, Yusei, and Tsunade discussed their findings. Yusei was surprisingly cooperative, given he had a tendency to ignore the Hokage. He must have decided to band together with Tsunade to take down Danzo. They also discussed Sakura rejoining Team Seven while remaining a Hunter.<p>

Yusei was not thrilled with the idea, and Sakura wasn't to fond of it either. She had grown apart from that team, from that life. In the end he came to an agreement with Tsunade, that she would only go on missions with the Team if they were to benefit the Hunters. She did not have to meet or train with them on a regular basis, which pleased Sakura immensely. Tsunade gave in to these terms as she could tell getting what little they had from the negotiations was all she was going to get.

By now she wanted to wipe herself clean from all this village politics and return to her solitary training. It would be hard to adjust herself, as she was no longer training with the sole purpose of killing Sasuke. That had been all she devoted herself to, so now she was in the odd stage of finding something new to fight for. There was one ray of hope, Yusei had stopped her before they departed and said their own training would begin the next week when he had free time and told her the time to come. So there was that.

She unhooked the rings around her waist and slipped them onto her thumbs, as they were to big for her other hands. She observed them for a few seconds, picturing black nail polish adorning her fingers and smirked. Wouldn't that be something, Sakura Haruno, the second coming of Itachi Uchiha. She took them off quickly and back on the belt, gazing across the village. Her eyes fell on the Uchiha Compound, dark and ominous in the night time. Itachi would probably be given the reins back, and would have to live in the ghost town he created.

* * *

><p>Sasuke clutched the sword in his hand until his knuckles were white. It had belonged to Sakura and screamed her name from the get-go, with it's silk red hilt and cherry blossom designs. It had been hard to stomach what Madara had told him, the reason his life was in shambled and the lonliness he felt as a child and even now was because of one man. <em>Danzo. <em>

He would slaughter every man, woman, and child in his way until her reached the wretched old man. Inside the sheath, the sword rattled as it began to shake from how hard he was gripping it. Slowly, one by one, he relaxed his fingers until the sword was calm. He cursed his body for being so weak, for not healing fast enough. It was the first time in his life he wished Karin was around so he could just bite her arm and be fine. Team Taka was as good as dead, one member was and the other two fled to Konoha in the confusion of the aftermath of his short fight with Sakura.

She had gotten much stronger, and Madara pointed out that she had various opportunities to finish Sasuke for good but chose to ignore them. He smirked, because in an emotional sense she was still so weak. He had not hesitated to kill her, nor had he to Naruto when the blond git tried to track him down half a year earlier as well with that pathetic team. He placed the Haruno's sword at his side, as he planned to use it to fully finish her off for daring to face him, as well as cripple his brother and take him to Konoha. First he'd destroy those who destroyed his own life, then he'd rescue his brother.

He smirked, this would be the final revenge.

* * *

><p>not sure if i like this chapter to much, as it bridges the first half of the story to the second, and it deals with a bunch of boring village politics, not much character development x( and hey, if i get stuff about sakura going into root, i read a story were she did that as well and there was absolutely no defenses, like...she walked in and walked out basically, so mine is not <em>that<em> absurd

as always, reviews are welcome! :D


	9. I'll Learn to Fight

Sakura dodged around the projectile and it's brother that appeared, barely having time to roll and dodge an attack that came from her side only to have to duck from a large sledge hammer smashing through the air. She was on her belly now and a lance of some sort slammed to the earth. She rolled over her head and landed on her feet, her chest on fire as she heaved for air. The ninja Yusei had conjured circled her, she tried to establish a pattern in which they attacked, but so far it had been completely random.

'No, there's no such thing as random chance.' She frowned as one of the smaller ninja lunged at her. His attacks were easy to dodge, as the shadow used a ball and chain weapon, very messy for a ninja but handy on the battlefield. All she had to really do was just jump back, the creaking of the chain and the whoosing of the air gave the weapons attack away thirty seconds before the spiked ball struck. Another of the nin was a large burly man who wielded a massive sword that resembled a lance, he always seemed to strike when she was down on the ground. A kunoichi was in the mix who dealt with throwing kunai and was was a blur most of the time. The rest of the nin were generic jonin Anbu, the point of this test was the teach Sakura a variety of reflexes and the ability to double task on the battle field. Yusei spent an hour explaining it, that you really only run into four or five unique ninja while on a mission and the rest are just trained goons. Another thing that she had learned from the training was that time really was essential, and the ability to asses how long it will take your opponent to strike and when was essential, and the first few minutes of a fight should be used to figure it out.

The large nin stuck and Sakura jumped over the slow moving sword, a ball of fire shot at her and she had to block it this time, even though she was supposed to be building her reflexes with dodging. There were just some attacks she could not avoid. The small kunoichi sent a flurry of kunai her way and Sakura jumped over the initial attack, then had to outrun the remaining force. Two nin used earth jutsu on her, and that as as simple as kicking wind out of her feet to avoid the attack. She bent over another swipe from the ball and chain and kept running, the muscles in her lower back screaming from the extreme use. The nin all exploded in clouds of dust and Yusei strolled out from the sidelines, his hands held behind his back.

"Not bad, your reflex rate has gone up considerably since we started two days ago, and you have caught on to the technique of assessing when your enemy will attack. Next I think we should work on your speed of attack, and then finish it off with your over all speed." Yusei thought out loud. Sakura was surprised to find she was not breathing as heavily as before, the first day after training she almost collapsed on the ground from over work. She had a gut feeling she knew what 'over all speed' was, and the image of a boy with a bowl cut in green spandex charging through the village literally ran through her mind.

"Yusei, the ninja you conjured were very...real." She struggled to find the word.

"Well they were once real." Yusei said offhandedly and Sakura nodded slowly. Of course they'd be the imprint of defeated ninja, hopefully. She eyed him and thought of Sasori's puppet army as he set to showing her several jutsu's that would enhance her speed.

Later that night before bed she flexed her arm muscle in the mirror. Her super strength was the gift from chakra, not sheer muscle, so she was always a little on the flabby side in muscle department. Her own training in taijutsu leaned her up a little, and then Yusei's Hunter training added a little definition. Now after her extra training, her muscles were more pronounced than ever and she did not have to flex to feel them. She patted the masculine feature and looked at her overall neglected appearance. Twelve year old Sakura would have fallen over in shame at the sight, and sixteen year old Sakura frankly did not care.

For two more days she trained to hone her speed and saw drastic increases in her ability at taijutsu. Bak Si Lum and Tai Chi Chaum styles came easily and blended into one as she trained against the many nin Yusei could summon, as she was given the go ahead to start attacking back, her goal to kill as many as she could in under a minute. She had to run in the morning as well wearing weights that would gradually get heavier as her tolerance built up, and the amount of laps increased to the point she was running to the point she was running close to two hundred laps towards the end of her speed training. She discovered she liked the enhanced speed, and new found power and security followed.

As promised, she learned three ninjutsu of Yusei's and declined to learn the summon defeated enemies trick, they were merely mirrors of shadows from ones own memory and to make them stronger apparitions one had to bind a person into the jutsu and it was a little to extreme for her. One of them was a modified version of her barrier, it was invisible and nearly undetectable.

The second one was a culmination of several wind techniques Yusei had picked up while on his own travels. The first one was called 'the Zephyr current' that created powerful buffeting winds that blew east and was supposed to push back an enamy army and give your allies the advantage as the wind pushed them forward but knocked the enemies down. The second one was 'the Boreas current', that generated winds blowing from the north and if strong enough, the user could conjure up ice projectiles that would skewer any defenseless nin caught in the middle. The last two were 'the Erus current' and 'the Auster current', violent and powerful winds blowing south and east respectively, when alone they could rip a person apart without the need to pressurize it. She easily learned these new techniques.

The last ninjutsu she learned was one of Yusei's own creations. It created a pool of chakra around the users feet that could get as big as the user wanted it to as long as they had and adequate chakra supply. Anyone who stepped onto it would be instantly trapped and the user could route their own chakra inside the person while sapping the victim of theirs, and essentially cause the victim to explode from the invasion of foreign energy in large doses. The only downside was that the chakra pool was visible so it could deter a one-on-one attacker but was handy in large scale battles and could give one space for range attacks. It took most of a month of training and Yusei was pleased by the end with her progress.

"I can see now why the Hokage praised you despite your youth. You have the amazing ability to grasp concepts quickly. Are you sure you do not have a photographic memory?" He inquired on the last day of training as Sakura adjusted the gloves on her hands after reducing a conjured ninja into tiny bits.

"I'm not sure. I was always good at book. But no one ever really believed I could apply it or helped me." Sakura frowned. Bitterness at Kakashi swelled inside her as she began to fix the other glove. She understood, he was a grown man put in charge of three children to oversee their development, of course he'd feel uncomfortable trying to guide a seemingly talentless kunoichi.

"Regarding were you came from, your growth is tremendous. I do not believe you have peeked yet, there is only room for you to improve. You may become the perfect soldier." Yusei was turned away from her now, his hands clasped behind his back as he mused over his own theories.

"The Village fears its own creations." Sakura said and her eyes fell to her shoes.

"Now that we are done with your extra training, I have a, exercise for you." He cleared his throat. Sakura looked at him to show she was listening. "Think of it as a test of your speed. An informant of mine has told me that Jiraiya, your blond friend's mentor as you mostly know him, was killed trying to infiltrate Akatsuki. Jiraiya gathered a substantial amount of information before dying, which is recorded in the mission report in the Hokage's desk." Yusei explained. There was a strange glint in his eye, he wanted that information badly.

"You want me to steal a file from the Hokage now?" Sakura sighed, her voice a little irritated. Didn't he have anyone else to do this dirty work for him? There were six other Hunters after all.

"It should be easy as walking in and walking out, as you spent several years in the Hokage's office. Plus, Tsunade will be busy in a few days time with the trial of Itachi Uchiha."

Sakura just grumbled and turned away to begin again.

Several days later Sakura awoke at six in the morning as she always did and instead took a shower. The water ran a light brown as she scrubbed at her hair and skin and applied heavy duty amounts of soup to her underarms and all over. Her hair was starting to grow past her shoulders and for now she pulled it into a small pony tail and wore a red shirt with long sleeves that hugged her arms just right that zipped down on the front with her clan's symbol on the back and black pants she used sometimes during training that could pass as dress pants and she pulled her open toed boots over them. She looped her chain belt around her waist to finish it off.

A letter was opened on her desk top that had been hand written by Tsunade. It explained that Itachi's court hearing was at nine o'clock that morning, and it would be held in private to discourage any public biased from the clans of Konoha from the Elders behalf and discuss the confidential information Sakura had dug up. Eventually the press would find out something when Itachi dodged the death penalty and naturally answers would have to be provided. She was welcome to come and testify if she wanted.

'Help out an Uchiha? Nah.' She smiled devilishly, besides, it was the perfect chance to enact her sudden mission.

She departed from the base around nine and made her way to the court building. It was across from the Hokage tower and reserved for high ranking crimes, such as this one. She flew over the rooftops and skidded to a stop atop an office building a few yards away, hiding her chakra and finding a good spot to were she would be invisible from all angles, she observed.

She spotted Tsunade leaving the Hokage Tower, Shizune dutifully at her side, a large bundle of paper was pinned down by her arms. They made their way across the street, a large crowd of civilians had assembled outside, hoping to glance Itachi. Sakura spotted Ino and several others of the Konoha 12. Sakura felt nothing as her eyes roved over their faces. No nostalgia, regret, anger, or kinship. Nothing. They were mediocre ninja for a mediocre village, she chuckled to herself. She wondered were Naruto was, naturally he'd flock to anything with the name Uchiha attached to it. He was probably at his apartment crying or something, she rolled her eyes. That boy was more emotional than her. Sure it was sad in a way that he lost his mentor, everyone close to Naruto seemed to either die or go insane, she noted. Even her.

* * *

><p>The court room was as large as a church, the ceiling rose above their heads and could probably fit the same amount of people as a concert hall, Tsunade observed. She had pressed for a private trial for Itachi, he was a criminal not a sideshow. She gritted her teeth in irritation at the gathering inside, reporters were a buffer between the spectators and the two opposing parties. Tsunade sat in the middle of Elders, and other politicians sat off to the side were a jury normally sat. She watched as the people came in, mostly jonin and other high ranking nin were given the front row seats, as well as the upper crust of Konoha such as the Hyuuga clan. Regular civilians were seated in the middle and back, and many were standing up when seats ran out. Other nin found seats in the balcony and stood up as well to get a better view.<p>

She spied Kakashi, Gai, and Kurenai chatting amongst themselves and Anko was talking animatedly to Ibiki and several other jonin she did not know. Lee was next to Neji and Tenten who was chatting with Hinata who was with her team mates as well. Ino was nagging to Shikamaru by the look of wishing for death on the pineapple haired boy, and Choji was talking to who was his dad. She recognized the red haired woman and the man with the large sword who had been apart of Sasuke's team. The term annoying did not even begin to describe them, at least they provided information on Sasuke's activities and likely whereabouts. Sai was sitting next to Kakashi and the emotionless boy stared straight ahead. Two lawyers sat down on the defense side, one was an ancient and weathered old man who said he had represented the Uchiha clan for generations and was serving the family once more. The other was a court appointed lawyer who was rather young.

The chattering in the room had risen to migraine levels, and Tsunade hadn't even stolen a single shot before having to strut over to this hellhole. She sighed once more, her sobriety making her more irritated than usual. Sakura's lack of an appearance was also annoying, even though the two had silently reconciled, some things her former student did still pissed her off. Sometimes it felt as if the Hokage was at tug-of-war with Sakura, trying to pull out the good dedicated and well intentioned rational Sakura back out who occasionally surface from whatever depression the pinkette was stubbornly stuck in. But the opposing side was just that, stubborn and selfish and cruel, the darkness inside Sakura that had been suppressed from morals and loyalty to Konoha. Plus, Yusei was on that side and he had a talent of drawing out the negative side of oneself and putting it on display.

In the end, it was Sakura and Sakura alone who would have to decide her future in Konoha amongst her former friends she was pushing away. The Haruno would make her own mistakes and learn from them, no matter how hard Tsunade and the village pulled, it was the pinkette who would decided to fall in the mud or not. Sighing once more, Tsunade picked up the gavel and slammed it down, cracking through the air and quieting the hall at once.

"The case of Itachi Uchiha v. Konoha has commenced, please bring in the defendant." She said. A door opened to the side and five Anbu appeared escorting Itachi whose arms were chained behind his back and chakra seals were stamped across the metal to zap him of any chakra. All eyes followed him and whispering kicked up as he took a seat next to the family lawyer. His eyes drifted around and landed a few inches away from Tsunade's face. "Itachi Uchiha, you are charged with knowingly defecting from the village of Konoha with knowledge of it's ninja and secretes, conspiring against the village with the criminal organization Akatsuki with malicious intent to both the village and general welfare against foreign villages. You are also charged with premeditated first degree murder of the Uchiha clan. How do you plead?" Tsunade read from a sheet of paper in front of her. The old lawyer stood up slowly and cleared his throat.

"Not guilty." He spoke and an eruption of whispers overtook the court room that Tsunade had to bang the gavel several times to get everyone to quiet down and she looked close to just punching the wall with her fists. Several aides scrambled around and Itachi's lawyers pulled out several papers, among them the top secrete report Sakura had stolen, to go over their plan of attack once more as the Elders talked amongst themselves.

* * *

><p>Sakura crawled out from under her hidey hole, now that the court was in session and half of Konoha was there to watch, she'd face little to no resistance. She weighed the options in her head, she knew the defenses of the Hokage tower and in Tsunade's office. On more than one occasion Sakura had seen several people just walk in as they pleased. With the Hokage and half of the Anbu regularly in the tower, no one had ever thought to put in defenses around the clock. She scanned the tower, mainly Tsunade's office, to find there was little put forth in the way of defenses. It would be as simple as hiding her chakra and crawling through the window. But there were easier ways to get what she wanted that did not require espionage.<p>

She walked through the front door.

The secretary was at her desk sorting papers through various colored bins and a phone was next to her silent for a change. Sakura never really liked the woman, and the feelings were probably mutual. The mouse haired woman looked up and irritation flickered across her face.

"Tsunade is not in right now." The woman snapped.

"I know. But I need to talk to her, it's an emergency." The pinkette replied evenly.

"She's busy with her duty to Konoha and she wont drop it to talk to you." The woman said, but paused, then sighed heavily. "I'm busy and I don't want you sitting down here for three hours, just go up to her office and wait if it's such an emergency." She waved Sakura off. The pinkette nodded and left briskly, taking the stairs two at a time. Easy as that.

Tsunade's office was still playing host to a city of paper skyscrapers. Sakura maneuvered around them easily and carefully eased into Tsunade's seat. She was so thin she did not have to push the chair back. She sat in the silence for a few seconds, contemplating were the information she would need was hidden. Automatically, her hand flew toward the left hand drawer and pulled. Of course it was unlocked, she rolled her eyes. She'd have to have a talk with Tsunade later about her office's defenses.

She shuffled through the folders inside to find that what she was looking for was not there. She shut the cabinet and tried all the others. Nothing. She leaned back in the chair and frowned. She tried the first one again, and of course, came to a dead end. Her hand hit the back and the metal made a weird thumping noise. She paused and rapped her knuckles across the metal again. Just as she suspected, hallow.

Her hand twisted in a sign and she sent a jolt of chakra through the metal. It swung open to reveal a hidden compartment. She pulled out two folders, one was covered in dust and mold was eating at the edges. She put it back and observed the second inhabitant, throwing open the cover and scanning the text. She knew then it was what she was looking for. She created a copy into a small scroll and tucked it away in her pocket and replaced the report.

* * *

><p>"I'm just trying to establish how a branch of the Hunters is given the jurisdiction to infiltrate an ally base and take its own confidential report with out any repercussions." The prosecutor snapped back. They had revealed the evidence that Sakura had recovered from Root, but the prosecutor was trying to spin it around. A majority of the courtroom was still stunned from the revelation, the media was writing everything down furiously and the Hyuuga's were whispering amongst themselves. Tsunade rubbed her temples in agitation, this was exactly what she had wanted to avoid. She'd have a huge mess on her hands the next day and damage control would have to go into over drive.<p>

"According to this report filed decades ago, Root was officially dissolved and Yusei's Hunters was created to replace it. Danzo kept Root active through his own means. Any information Root kept as stated on line 0086 of clause 0304, 'shall be willfully surrendered to the Hunters if that information is needed for purposes to aide in a task, failure to do so is a penalty under law and considered to be fraternization against the village'." The younger lawyer responded as quick as whip, brandishing an even thicker packet of papers with numerous stamps across the front.

Tsunade's eyes darted between the two men as they continued their back and forth, bringing up laws and clauses out the ying-yang her head began to swim. She longingly thought of her new bottle of brandy hidden away in her office.

"Proceed to call a witness or rest your case." Tsunade growled, cracking her knuckles as the back and forth began to get trivial. The prosecuting lawyer cleared his throat and regained his posture.

"We would like to call a new witness to the stand." He said, fixing his tie. He called up a a woman in her late forties who was in charge of dealing out the psychology tests to ninja under high pressure rankings and suffering from traumatic experiences.

She paid attention as they tried to paint Itachi as a sociopath who enjoyed killing and was the victum of his own family, basically saying that Itachi broke from the pressure from the brutal ways the Uchiha family and gladly chose to kill them despite there being several other options he could have choose. The defense had a tough time shaking this down, pointing out Itachi passed every psychology exam with flying colors and was never diagnosed with any mental illness even if he showed minor traits of a few. They called their own psychologist, a man who worked in the private sector and sent through every report on Itachi's mental stability, and concluded that Itachi was as sane as any normal civilian except he was gifted with exceeding intelligence.

They called up a few more witnesses, such as the leader of the Anbu and one of the village elders who had ordered Itachi to kill his family. The defense managed to tongue tie the Elder which was good, and even stump the Anbu. The prosecuting party huddled together, a few cast looks over at the rag tag team that made up the defense. Itachi had been looking at his lap the entire time, slowly spinning his thumbs over each other. It was well into the afternoon now, but everyone was on high alert as they had been in the morning. She was surprised they did not call Itachi up to the stand but concluded they were probably afraid of him. Around three they finally rest their case and the Elders and Tsunade went into an adjoining room to deliberate.

* * *

><p>Sakura's pink locks fell over the paper and she ran her hand through the front of her head again, only to have the shoulder length tresses fall back in front of her face. She frowned, the kunai in her pocket called to her lovingly. She rubbed her eye and closed them a few times, her eyeballs felt dry from keeping them peeled on the packet of paper placed under her nose. Next to her was another Hunter who was scribbling in a notebook, reading their own report of Jiraiya's mission. Yusei was poured over his own document, another Hunter at his side. The others who were out on missions were called back, if their mission allowed it. Only two could not leave as they were deep undercover.<p>

She scratched her neck, squinting at the code once more. Her brain was whirling at top speed, as with anything, this was a puzzle waiting to be solved. Yusei entrusted her with decoding it, while the Hunter next to her was working out were Jiraiya had found the Akatsuki. Yusei and his own Hunter were pouring over the details of the leader, Pain, and his helper. Sakura had glimpsed over that section of the report, it had something to do with multiple bodies that this Pain could produce. Jiraiya had managed to kill one before dying himself.

She glanced at her notes, scattered scribbled thoughts and possible leads. Stupid frog, why couldn't he have just written the message in plain English? She gritted her teeth, this was getting personal now.

* * *

><p>Konan looked out of the window, a square hole in the iron side of the building. Of course it was raining, she noted with distaste. She could feel the second Uchiha boy moving about a few floors down Zetsu and Madara kept him company most of the time. Pain would occasionally visit, and when he left the room he informed Konan that they were to prepare for a mission.<p>

"What is it?" Konan asked.

"We are to retrieve the Kyuubi ourselves."

He said it was because recently Akatsuki's numbers had drastically been depleted by the ninja of Konoha. Konoha. Konan did not really care for that village, when she had been a child she pictured it as a large city, clean and filled with lights and everyone was a hero. Now she knew it was no better than a fishing village.

Sasuke Uchiha sat in the chair with his arms crossed, Sakura's sword was strapped to his back along with his own. He had planned for her sword, which had cut down enemies that should have destroyed her, to spill the blood of those fools she held so dear in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Now he might never get that chance.

"You will have to wait, you're still not fully healed from your injuries." Madara lectured while Zetsu's yellow eyes followed the masked man. Sasuke nodded once more, tired of Madara's words and stared outside. The rain fell in a constant dribble here, what a miserable city.

* * *

><p>"Did you hear what they gave the Uchiha? Six months of hard time, then six hundred hours of house arrest, followed by two months of community service. What a light sentence." A Hunter came in briskly the next day, talking to Yusei. Sakura's head inclined upward, so Itachi did not receive the death penalty. She looked back down at her papers, now forming a vague idea of what the code entailed. Her mind drifted away as she thought, lazily floating along memory lane.<p>

She first remembered standing in the dawn light waiting for Kakashi to arrive who wouldn't show until noon, Sasuke stood behind her and Naruto hunched over next to her snoring. She smiled a little at Naruto's antics, how she used to scorn them. As always when she thought about how she used to act, she wanted to face palm herself in shame. She should have been nicer to Naruto, and directed her anger at who deserved it, Sasuke.

'That's in the past now where it belongs.' She nodded to herself, and knew she'd have to return to her work soon. Ever since the death of Anger, Sakura had been left truly alone with out any voice to keep her company, just a huge gaping hole in her chest. She began to search for her new ambition, it wouldn't be Konoha, her old friends, or Tsunade or even Yusei. Maybe she could learn to fight for herself. Time spent thinking about her old attachments was time wasted, she flexed her fingers in frustration.

'Be light on your feet, assume anything can and will happen. Keep your guard up, notice everything.' Yusei's voice drifted into her head as she recited his pointers. She picture her feet dancing along the surface of the floor as she dodged projectiles, hand to hand attacks and weapons and shrapnel. In her minds eye she was flipping over attacks, not from an enemy ninja, but from the snares of her old life. Ino lunged at her and tried to pin her down, but Sakura circled out of her grasp, Tsunade came flying at her with a punch and Sakura was prepared, dropping to her knees and skidding under the fist's path.

'The trick is to keep a fluid and constant stream of movement, know what to do before you do it, if you stay still long enough, you become easy pray.' Now she was skipping over the Konoha 12, their hands were reaching up swiping at her ankles as she glided over them, landing with a roll and pausing at her crouched position. Naruto was standing twenty feet away staring her down. She couldn't make out what was behind him, but her body yearned greatly for whatever it was. She had to get around him, and by the look on his face, he wasn't going to let that happen. She slowly stood up and he tensed up as she kept his gaze.

Sakura at her desk ran her hand through her shoulder length hair, and frowned at her paper as she crossed out a line she had written. She went over the basics of Jiraiya's mission once more and leaned so far over that she was practically laying on the table top, her eyes grew wide as the gears in her mind spun until they over heated.

The pinkette ran towards the blond boy, who stood firm and spread his arms out, ready to catch Sakura as she prepared to jump over him.

Her vision was cut short as Sakura gasped and stood up, the back of her knees hit the chair and sent it laying on its back. Yusei shot her a perplexed look and the other Hunters all looked at her from behind their ghostly white masks. The room was waiting for her to speak, but suddenly it felt as if she couldn't breath. She inhaled deeply and opened her mouth to speak.

* * *

><p>Itachi Uchiha began to pack his few possessions allowed to him to make the swap to the prison, in the morning he would be carted off to the building that would become his home for the next six months. An armada of Anbu were waiting outside, he could sense their nervousness and fear. He smirked as he folded an extra shirt and tucked it away in his bag.<p>

* * *

><p>Ino Yamanaka switched the sign on the front door to her parent's shop to red in bright red letters, closed. She had felt better that day to held out around the shop, for the past few weeks she had been holed up in her room. She needed a break, in the span of several months her life had fallen apart before her eyes. She was a crumby ninja, her teacher was dead, and her best friend a psycho. The blonde had worn a brave face for so long it had been only a matter of time when it crumbled. Tsunade was more than understanding when a next to tears Ino asked for a vacation. Recently a thought had occurred to her, quit being a ninja and join the family business instead.<p>

* * *

><p>Hinata Hyuuga assembled her small pot of flowers, making sure no two colors touched. Stuffed deep inside was a pack of ramen. She'd deliver Naruto-kun's flowers tomorrow when he returned. She had missed him in his short absence. Her gut told her that something important was going to happen soon, but her head just shook it off.<p>

* * *

><p>Kakashi Hatake finished the chapter and closed the orange volume. He knew the story like the back of his hand, but was rereading the series in memorial of it's author. Tomorrow he'd take Naruto out to lunch with Sai, on time, he decided, and stretched out to go to sleep. He wondered if he declared it a mission if Sakura would show up. No one could turn down a free meal.<p>

* * *

><p>Sakura was racing along the oncoming dawn's breath, her feet were a blur and her mind a numb emptiness. She swung over a gap in a building and kept going, even when she felt her ankle groan under her from the uneven weight. She was being sloppy, but she had no time to waste. He was probably on his way that very moment. The guard were unsuspecting fools, lazily changing posts for the day. Yusei remained calm when Sakura explained her findings, and effortlessly set out a team of Hunters to patrol the city and await for Pain's arrival, the others went out to inform the various military branches of the city.<p>

She crawled up the side of the Hokage tower like a spider fleeing an angry human armed with a shoe. For once, Tsunade was in her office and Sakura thanked her luck. She landed on the window sill as the sun began to peer over the horizon. A beam of light hit her face at the right angle, and she winced, covering her face. She looked up and blinked. She did not know if what she saw was real, for a great black bird was circling the sky. It turned it's fleshy head and locked eyes with her. The vulture cawed and she blinked, it was gone.

She threw herself to the window and threw it open, but was sent falling backward into the void by a great explosion that rattled the earth.

* * *

><p>blergh, i dont really like the last half of this chapter, its really scattered and unorganized, i wanted to get that feel to build suspense, but a little more organization would be nice lol<p>

i decided to update anyway, as its been a month (i got really busy with school, but only a month left, yay! lol)

i sorry, next chapter will be better, promise

review?


	10. Full Dark

Sakura flipped head over heals and threw her hands out, chakra flared from her palms as she caught herself against the side of the building and skidded to a stop. She caught her breath as it felt like her heart lodged itself in her throat. She climbed the rest of the way up in a matter of seconds and swung into Tsunade's office. The small space was thrown into chaos, several Anbu appeared and were rushing around, knocking over the stacks of paper work as the Hokage gazed outside the windows in horror.

"Tsunade-sama." Sakura said and with several strides was next to the blonde woman. Sakura turned and looked out, her eyes widened and she gasped. A large crater had appeared in the center of the village, at it's own center were two powerful chakra signatures. There was no telling how many people had perished from the surprise attack. "It's the Akatsuki. Their leader Pain is here to take Naruto's nine tailed fox." Sakura said and turned toward her former teacher. Tsunade slowly nodded and her brown eyes set into hard determination.

"Alright, I want Itachi Uchiha under strict surveillance, they may be here for him too. Get the rest of the Anbu to sweep the village and evacuate the remaining civilians. Alert the Hyuuga and other clans and their shinobi." Tsunade said and circled around her desk, giving out a series of more commands. "Sakura!" Tsunade barked and the Pinkette looked over to the Hokage. Tsunade looked grim, but determined. "You're coming with me." Sakura nodded and followed the blonde out of the room.

"Tsunade-sama, how are we going to properly defend the village if half of the Anbu are guarding Itachi?" Shizune had scrambled after them.

"Yusei's Hunters are helping out, they're already evacuating much of the village." Tsunade called over her shoulder as they descended the stairs. Sakura's eyes narrowed at Tsunade's back, how could that woman possibly know? There was a poof of smoke and Kakashi was standing at the bottom of the steps. "Kakashi, good, you can help us." Tsunade said and walked right past him. Sakura jogged to keep up as the two shinobi set for the doors.

"I'm sorry, but what are we doing?" Sakura asked.

"We're going to kill the leader and his partner." Tsunade said and Sakura stopped in her tracks. Kill their leader...? Outside villagers were running around trying to find shelter. Many shinobi were scrambling around as well, some one was speaking through a bull horn to make their way to the Hokage Mountain and take shelter in the bunkers there. "Sakura!" Tsunade barked and Sakura was thrown out of her spell and ran after the woman.

* * *

><p>Ino was enveloped by rubble. She lay still and flexed each muscle carefully. Nothing was broken but her head was pounding. A pocket of air had developed around her face from the angle she had fallen, and it would probably only last her half an hour. She slowly brought her hand to her side and used her elbow as a way to dig herself a wider space and slowly sat upward. Her hand shot out in front of her to the surface and she held onto a large slab of concrete to use as an anchor before pulling herself out of her tomb.<p>

Sitting up and breathing fresh air, her throat was sore and she was about to pass out from her headache. She felt the back of her head and a large welt had swollen out from were the chunk of the ceiling hit her. Her head swiveled around and her heart sunk, her entire house had collapsed from the shock waves of the explosion. This was it, the world was crashing around her at last. First her friends, then her teacher, and now her parents and village.

"Ino! There you are!" Shikamaru's voice sounded concerned for once and Ino looked over her shoulder towards him. He was with Choji, Kiba, and Shino. "What's going on?" Ino asked and stood up with great effort.

"The village is being attacked. I'm going to go protect Kurenai, you stay with them, alright?" Shikamaru said and placed his hands on her shoulders. Butterfly's fluttered around her stomach as she slowly nodded yes and he nodded before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"Let's go!" Choji took Ino's hands and they took off into the direction of Pain's arrival.

* * *

><p>Hinata Hyuuga scrambled to her feet and looked outside. She could see the settling of the mushroom cloud in the distance and felt the vibrations long before they actually happened. Her heart filled with dread as her room began to shake, the pot of flowers jiggled in it's place before falling and crashing to the ground. The sound of footsteps trampled up and down the hall outside and a sense of dread filled the young Hyuuga as her door was thrown open.<p>

"Miss Hyuuga! There you are, come with me, it's not safe here!" One of the lower level Hyuuga's stretched out his hand.

"I have to go." Hinata said softly and threw her window open before jumping out. She ignored the cries from the attendant as she raced along the battered and broken streets of Konoha. She raced along without her byakugan activated, and nearly collided with Ino's group.

"Watch out!" Choji called and he caught Hinata before she could hit the ground.

"Hinata! There you are, what are you doing here? It's dangerous." Kiba said sternly as she steadied herself and Choji let go of her.

"I'm a ninja of Konoha too." She snapped, her voice still soft, it sounded odd coming from her.

"Well, okay. Just be careful." Kiba said and looked away.

"Does anyone know what's going on?" Hinata asked then, hoping they knew what happened to Naruto. Everyone shook their heads silently and the sense of mounting dread filled the purple haired girl. They continued on toward the center of the attack which had wiped out half of the village. Ninja were scrambling here and there trying to dig out anyone caught under rubble and some civilians were still racing about trying to find loves ones.

Kiba stopped abruptly, they had reached the crater. It went on for miles it seemed, two stadiums could easily nestle inside with room for more. At it's center stood two figures cloaked in black with red clouds swabbed here and there. The wind played lightly at their hair, one had bright orange locks and the other lavander. Their chakra signatures were enormous and fear washed over Hinata at the vary sight of them. She began to shake and held onto Kiba for support.

Three figures arrived at the opposite end of the crater, and no one could mistake them. Bright pink locks stained with red, messy gray hair, and medium blonde. The Hokage, Kakashi, and Sakura slowly descended the crater, taking their time with each step. What were they trying to do, intimidate the leader of the Akatsuki by swaggering up to him? Ino's blue eyes widened, the pounding in her head quickened and she held her hands up to her mouth. This was it, she was about to see the death of the Hokage and Sakura Haruno.

Sakura tried to hide her mounting nerves and focused on clearing her head. She noticed a group of the Konoha Twelve had arrived, and a small band of civilians had crawled out of the muck to watch as well, guarded by several Anbu. The crowd would probably only grow larger, she thought and decided she hated sheep who were drawn to a spectacle so easily. They stopped their advance several feet from the Akatsuki, and she shivered. Their leader, Pain, was pierced in places she did not know it was possible to fit the gun. His partner was beautiful, but in a terrible calm way that made you quiver.

"What is it you seek here?" Tsunade asked, her voice firm. She was at the head of their party, Kakashi stood on her right and Sakura flanked her left.

"We want to one known as Naruto Uzumaki." Pain replied just as firm.

"He is not here at the moment." Tsunade growled, and Sakura could tell her former teacher was loosing her carefully bottled anger. "You come to my village, murder innocent civilians and wipe out half of it, did you expect you would succeed? Do you not know of the countless loyal and powerful ninja that call the Village Hidden in the Leaves home?" She demanded, her voice growing louder and louder with anger. Sakura's eyes darted back and forth, and dared not to linger to long on the Akatsuki.

"Is Naruto Uzumaki gave himself up right now, we will go quietly and no one else as to die." Pain ignored her questions, and this probably infuriated Tsunade even more.

"You will not touch anyone, anymore." She said simply before she attacked. Pain easily dodged her fist like it was a simply gust of wind, and Kakashi lunged at him. Sakura did not know what happened at first and looked on in bewilderment. Konan came up behind her and struck Sakura in her back. The pinkette threw her hands out and swiveled in the air, throwing two black shuriken at the lavender haired woman, only to have them deflected by Konan's own white shurkien. Sakura narrowed her eyes as she landed and for the second time cursed herself for ever loosing her sword. A jet of white shot out at her and she barely had time to react, charging a large amount of chakra into her fist from fear and released enough pressure to implode a good amount of the attack. Jets of the substance showered around her like snow, and she frowned.

'Paper...?' Another jet of paper shot at her and she had more time to react and dodged it, releasing a burst of pressured wind from her hands as she turned around, crouching down as she did so. This did little but to slow the advance of the paper, Konan lazily watched as Sakura struggled to snake her way out of her attack.

'Hm. Not as strong as I thought.' Konan thought and flicked her wrist. A paper column shot out of the ground and formed a spike, the Haruno jumped around it and took an odd stance, her arm flung around as if broken, but connected to the pillar before it exploded into dust. Konan's jaw almost dropped, but there was room for surprise, she decided. Paper fell around her hands like coils and formed duel chakrams, she spun around and sliced at Sakura who could only try and dodge. She produced two kunai and used them to fight back with extreme fury, spinning and jumping around Konan's weapons.

The Pinkette's foot glided upward and shot down, cutting one of the chakrams in half from sheer force. She brought her right hand around to slice into Konan's neck, but her wrist was enclosed around a thick cuff of paper that squeezed until she felt her hand go numb and drop the knife. She cried out angrily and shot her other hand around only to have it caught as well. Locks of her hair fell from her headband onto her face and curtained around her shoulders as Sakura felt her back bend from pain.

"I thought you'd be more of a challenge." Konan said, almost sad. Sakura pooled chakra down to her hands before Konan could sense it, who raised her own hand to cut Sakura in two. As the paper blade swung down, Sakura ripped her self from her trap, ribbons of chakra flung out in every direction and Sakura had to bite her lip to keep from crying out, her hands flopped around her sides pitifully as they snapped from the intense pressure it took for her to break free. She began to heal them, green chakra clouded around her wrists, as Konan stood still. Paper slowly began to ascend around her, and her very skin seemed to be flaking off in layers of paper.

'Think, she's made of paper. Fire damage? But I can't control fire! Ugh, I'm being reckless, I can't let my fear get the best of me. So what if she's a leader of the Akatsuki-!' Sakura thought inwardly and twisted her hands around, good as new. She dug her feet into the ground and took the stance for the Black Monk fighting style, as earlier she had managed to destroy an attack.

Torrents of paper shot out at her in a neat organized assault, Sakura attacked back with a jet of pressurized wind. She managed to wear away the front of the attack, her own chakra and combined flurry of attacks began to mount in the one small concentrated area, the force became to much for her to handle. She broke the attack and as the first crest of the paper stream was freed and made its way to her, she watched in come in slow motion. As with every battle she began to see her opponents attack slow to a crawl, she stood fully upright and glided to the right, her forefinger and middle finger shot downward at the attack, deflecting it and sending it bouncing off the ground before exploding against a bolder in a shower of shredded paper.

Konan raised an eyebrow, so the little girl did have a few tricks up her sleeve. She was fast, faster than any ninja at her level for sure. But her efforts were doomed, as with her comrades. Sakura ran her fingers through her hair in an effort to push the bangs away, only to have her hand get caught on her head band and tug it down. The status of her loyalty to Konoha was jerked away with irritation and the Pinkette tossed it on the ground, and it was soon joined by her cloak. The rings around her waist jingled from the movement and Konan's eyes zeroed in on them.

She was in front of the younger kunoichi before Sakura could completely turn back to the fight, and a small square of paper was flicked between her thumb and forefinger. Sakura made an attempt to run forward, she felt a tug at her waist and the chain was cut through like it was butter, the rings there dropped to the earth, and Konan snatched them up. Sakura turned around to attack, her limply held hand was cutting a diagonal path toward's Konan's throat that if it made contact, would have caused Konan's windpipe to collapse. But the Akatsuki Kunoichi was quicker, the small square of paper shot out in size and was buried into Sakura's chest.

'She lasted longer than I thought.' Konan thought as she took a few steps back. How ironic, a hole in her chest to match the one she had seen in her visions, she thought as she slowly fell to her knees. She tried to make an effort to raise her hands to her chest, but was loosing a large amount of blood from her wound. Konan's eyes narrowed as she thought she was seeing the girl smile. Blood creeped out of Sakura's mouth and slowly fell down her chin in thin ribbons. She coughed out a mouthful of the blood and inhaled deeply, her head tilted up, past Konan and the skyline of the shattered Konoha, to come to rest on the sky. It looked like an ink blot at first, but gradually Sakura could make out the form of a Vulture circling around her in the distance. It began to come closer and closer, and her knees were growing weak. Chakra was pooling into her chest, but it wasn't enough. She was hearing someone screaming, a girl, screaming over and over, 'Sakura'.

"Shut up, Ino-pig." Sakura whispered and her head began to feel heavy. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kakashi fall as well, was he dead or alive? Tsunade was still kicking it seemed. Sakura slowly looked away from them, and for one fleeting second she felt helpless again, facing off against the three sound nin in the forest of death while her team mates were unconscious, and she remembered Sasuke's words when he woke up. 'Sakura, who did this to you?'

'I did it to myself.' She smiled wide now, and her hands fell to the ground. This was it, the end. A pair of blue eyes came to her mind, and with all her heart she wanted to see him just one more time. He never gave up on her, even when the whole world did. 'Naruto, we need you.' She wasn't sure if she spoke it, or thought it, as it all went black and she finally collapsed.

"Took her long enough." Konan grumbled as the dust swirled around the corpse of the leaf ninja. This pathetic kunoichi who had taken down two of their members, was just easily killed in under thirty minutes. 'Never send a man to do a woman's job.' Konan almost smirked as she turned toward Pain. The Hokage was still standing, and had dealt a a great deal of damage to Pain's Asura path, but nothing a few days rest couldn't fix. Konan moved to the sidelines to watch until the Hokage was defeated.

Tsunade sensed it a moment before it happened, maybe she had developed a sort of mother's intuition for the annoying brat, but when Sakura died, Tsunade knew. She didn't have to glance back to picture the girl with pink hair face down in the dirt, her hair fanned out around her face, her hands still curled for battle at her sides and her legs positioned as if she was about to stand. What Tsunade could not come to terms with was picturing the pool of blood spilling out of the girl of sixteen's body, stealing with it her life. The blonde woman bit her lip as one tear spilled from her eye lid.

The air rumbled around them and there was a shift in pressure. Pain looked over in surprise at the new arrival, and Tsunade stole a glance over her shoulder. The smoke began to clear and a weight both lifted and settled inside her as she recognized the blonde hair and blue eyes standing atop a large frog, his arms crossed and face set in determination. Pain smirked, the fool had walked right up to him.

The dust settled and Naruto took a quick assessment, he had arrived in the center of a large crater, around the rim was a mass of civilians and ninja alike, the most prominent to him was the group of his friends. He registered each face and wondered were Sakura was. He knew the village was under attack, but he did not know it was this serious. Anger flooded through his veins as he spotted to Akatsuki leader standing over a defeated Kakashi and a battered Tsunade, this man had killed Jiraiya, led the group that had terrorized him since he had been twelve, and now had destroyed the place he called home.

As if commanded by a magnet, he slowly began to look down toward a figure laying in the dirt a few feet away from were he had landed. His heart all but stopped when he saw the wisps of messy pink hair streaked with red, and the white circle on red embedded on the back. He was waiting for Sakura to look up at him, but she was still. He then noticed the thick pool of blood she was laying in and the wound to her chest. His head was then commanded to look over to Tsunade and Pain, and saw the body of Kakashi crumbled in the dirt as well. The village all but wiped out, two of his dearest friends dead. His head began to pound like the onset of a migraine, and he let out a yell of pure rage.

Hinata shook with fear for the blonde haired boy as he charged at the man, Pain, a ball of chakra whirling in his hand. Next to her, Ino had fallen as was sitting down, now she was silent, tears fell from her face uncontrollably and her team mate Choji put a comforting hand on her shoulder. Tsunade fell back as Naruto took on the terrifying man, the woman shook Kakashi and began to heal several severe cuts on his torso, behind her back barely even twenty feet away, a battle that would quickly become legend was being fought. Hinata clasped her hands to her chest and breathing began to become a chore, she was shaking now in horror but could not look away.

One of the man's bodies was defeated, and quickly another. Nartuo coordinated perfectly with his frog companions, preparing another devastating attack only to have another of the bodies stop it. He bounced back, and four of the bodies were destroyed. Hinata began to breath easier now, only two more to go. Her heart fell through the floor when Naruto was captured and her pearly white eyes became the size of dinner plates. He broke free when one of the bodies was turned into a statue, but was quickly captured again.

'He's going to die...Naruto is going to die!' Hinata kept screaming over and over in her head when the man Pain began to talk to Naruto, like a cat playing with a mouse. She saw the fallen body of Sakura Haruno, her friend, and could not bare to see Naruto the same way, dead and lifeless. Her legs moved as if she was walking through wet concrete, but to everyone else she was there one second and gone the next. If anyone said that Hinata Hyuga would take on Pain, the leader of the Akatsuki, they would have been laughed at until they turned away in shame. But there she was, the weakest Hyuga, the shy introverted byuakugan wielder who stumbled her way through every social gathering, was staring down Pain with the motive to protect and defend.

"Hinata! You can't-!" Naruto began to say but stopped himself.

"I know." Hinata said so loudly and clearly it surprised even her.

"Then why?"

"Because I love you Naruto-kun. I've loved you since I was a child." She blurted out, proud with the lack of a stutter and a blush. A weight rushed out of her chest and she could almost smile, the words had been spoken into reality, he knew. Naruto was silent with shock, Pain batted the purple haired girl aside like she was a fly in one attack. Hinata collapsed and fell toward Naruto, a gash spread over her forehead and a lump swelled around her eye. On one elbow she began to crawl toward the pinned Naruto, and raised a trembling hand to remove a spike that trapped him.

"Why are you doing this?" Pain asked, his voice seemed to make Hinata tremble even more. She had been deathly terrified of that man, and it took all of her courage and strength to come to Naruto's aide. Hinata smiled a small smile and locked eyes with Naruto.

"Because it's my nindo." She coughed out. Pain raised his hand indifferently and impaled the Hyuga through with a large spike. She let out a gasp of pain, her eyes rolled over to the back of her head, her hand fell down short, and like a pyramid of cards she collapsed.

A piercing silence ripped through Naruto, and for a second he caught a glimpse of Sakura and even Kakashi in Hianta's dying eyes. Tsunade was yelling something at Naruto, but all Naruto felt was the rippling of his skin, as if he was tearing himself open from his own numb rage. All sense of himself, were he was, who he was, was thrown away as he threw his head back, red chakra whipped around him in torrents, lashing and snapping at the air as his skin exploded and his form changed.

* * *

><p>The distant sound of explosions and rumbling faded away in Sakura's ears. Her eyes were shut so tight, almost glued together. Maybe she was a statue? Someone had covered her body in cement, and now she was a memorial to the dammed ninja of Konoha. She felt certainly heavy enough to be a statue, and she was cold. Her eyes flew open on their own accord, to take in a vast white nothingness. She looked down slowly at her chest, the hole was there, and blood had fallen out of it to look as if she was wearing a red dress.<p>

Her foot fell in front of her as if stepping off a pedestal. She continued to walk, her shoes squeaked off the surface of the ground and echoed across the vast space. She scanned the area, it was so quiet she was beginning to hear whispers, or could they be real? She had died, the pain she felt and the wound currently making her a donut could suffice, yet here she was, standing, breathing, blinking, thinking. She had never been very religious or put much thought into the afterlife, but if there was one, she was sure she would not go to heaven, but she also hadn't done terrible things that would send her to hell.

'Purgatory. Eternity alone.' She thought and a wave of depression washed over her.

"It's what you wanted, right?" A voice called. Sakura spun around to see through the mist settled on the ground, herself. She blinked, as it was twelve year old Sakura, long hair pulled back with red ribbon and all. Twelve year old Sakura smiled at her stunned older self.

"Another voice in my head?" Sakura smirked defiantly. "Join the club."

"No, how can there be a voice in your head if you are dead?" Younger Sakura shot back and put her hand on her hips and gave her a look of overwhelming narcissism. No wonder everyone hated her back then.

"Then what are you?" Sakura turned fully around to face her self.

"Whatever you think I am. C'mon, let's walk and talk a while." Younger Sakura strolled up toward the taller Pinkette and wound her arm around her own and they began a stroll, as if walking down the park on a lazy summer afternoon. "See, this is what the rest of your eternity will be like, alone in nothing, occasionally I'll stop by, and those other voices in your head with begin to pop up for a reunion. Lovely, huh?"

"Are you here to give me a lecture and convince me to change my ways, so I'll spend the rest of my life...death, trying to change?" Sakura asked, irritated that this little munchkin was trying to tell her what to do.

"That was the plan." Younger Sakura said and unwound herself from the older Haruno, and took a few steps back. Sakura faced toward the small girl. "But only you can decided whether or not to be nicer to your friends, your village. You just watched its destruction, any thoughts?"

"Needed more smoke." Sakura thought after a long silence and added a defiant smirk. Young Sakura rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"You walked down the path no one else wanted to take, you became a machine for Konoha, a machine it did not want, and frankly, did not need. You served a man that would throw you away the moment you show that have reached your peak of potential. You obsessed over a boy that forgot all about you and ignored the people that never will. I never thought I'd ever have to say this, but Sakura Haruno, you need to grow up." Young Sakura said and glared at her older self. Sakura was taken aback at first, and blinked from the girl's words, at a loss for words.

"I hope you enjoy being alone for the rest of forever. You've deserved it." Young Sakura spat, and before Sakura could reply with all of her own fury, the image dissolved into the vast space.

"You don't understand! Everyone gave up on me! They didn't come to help when I was dying! They didn't care when I was suffering! No one cared!" She began to yell were the little girl had once stood, and she ran forward, as if she'd catch sight of the child. The white blanketed then to completely black, a rush of wind knocked her on her back. She began to make a move to stand back up, but roots sprouted from the ground and bound her hands down. She kicked her legs wildly, but they too were bound. "Th-they didn't care! No-no one cared!" She was howling now at the top of her lungs, tears that she thought had dried up years ago spilled down her cheeks.

Blinking through the tears and the madness that was finally tearing her apart, she knew were she was. The day Sasuke had left and she collapsed in her room to awake to the black out of Konaha. The storm clouds that had shadowed her fight with Sasuke. Here she was. No stars, no light. Full Dark. She squeezed her eyes shut as she began to hyperventilate, her head shook from side to side and gradually slowed down and she hiccuped into silence.

"I'm sorry everyone." She whispered and blinked back tears. "I'm sorry, Naruto." She choked out and began her crying all over again. She did not notice the thin pin prick of light that pierced the dark at first, nor did she see it gradually grow bigger and bigger, until it was the size of the sun in the sky. She opened her eyes and abruptly stopped her blubbering, her eyes expanded as all around her became gray and she inhaled from shock. Her ears rung until she was blinded by the light.

* * *

><p>Sakura awoke to a terrible itch on her nose. She raised a stiff hand and fumbled with a plastic breathing tube that domed around her nose and mouth. She ripped it off and awkwardly scratched the itch. Various tubes and wire ran this and that around her body, the steady beat of a heart monitor clicked next to her. She scanned the room, it was apart of the new ward, a small room that faced the Hokage Mountain. Two other beds were crammed inside the room, thick white curtains concealed their identity. A few things passed Sakura's mind, first, how, then why.<p>

'I died, I'm sure it was all real. Wasn't it?' She thought, her chest rose and fell with great effort. She eased her hands upward and tilted upward while leaning heavily on her shoulders. The tubes and wire held tight, she grunted from pain was they snapped out. She had to wait several minutes to catch her breath and swung her feet over her bed. Standing up took greater effort than she thought, she wobbled dangerously and held onto an IV stand for support. With a great concentration, she walked toward the window, focusing on each foot fall.

She leaned against the window frame and looked out. Buildings stood as they usually did, in the distance she could hear the bustle of the market district and some one was speaking over a bull horn. Everything was normal, as if a crater hadn't wiped out half of the village. She leaned back, shaking her head. There was no way she survived, it was impossible, Konan had pierced her heart, Sakura hadn't seen her purgatory. Chills ran across her skin from the memory of the vision.

'Is anything real anymore!' She screamed internally, taking another step back that threatened the knock her off balance. The door was thrown open as Sakura fell backward, landing on her butt and hitting her head against the railing of the bed.

"You little fu-!" Sakura began to curse, blinking away tears and rubbing the back of her head.

"What are you doing out of bed, Sakura?" Shizune tsked. Sakura looked over from were she was sitting, Ino froze in the doorway, her eyes set on Shizune who bustled over to the Pinkette and helped her onto her feet.

"Shizune, what happened? How am I alive?" Sakura asked after settling back onto the bed and Shizune began to hook Sakura back up to the machines.

"I'll explain in a minute." Shizune said sternly, then stepped back. "Sakura, Naruto arrived shortly after you were defeated and fought Pain. He was able to defeat him, and before he died, Pain restored the city and everyone back to life." She explained. Sakura's jaw dropped in surprise, that anyone had that type of god like power and Naruto defeated him. "Naruto is fine, I believe he is at home now asleep. But, others weren't so lucky." Shizune added and her eyes flickered with worry and pain. The woman stepped back and pulled back the curtain around the bed next to Sakura to reveal a shriveled up and still Tsunade.

* * *

><p>i actually really liked writing this chapter, probably one of my favorites. The second half of the story had now begun, I feel like i should have made the fight with Pain vs Kakashi and Tsunade in detail, but couldnt figure out how to transition back and forth between them and sakura, besides in the actual show kakashi and pain fought ,etc. (same logic i used with naruto vs. pain, lol)<p>

i might go back and add a little detail later on, but for now im done writing this chapter, the next chapter will cover the invasion of pain from other characters view point, if i included everyone's pov in this chapter, it'd be 10,000+ words haha (its 5000 now)

it was nice writing hinata's small part, it's nice to write sappy melodramatic stuff every once and while, some one said when will narusaku start a while ago, its gradually going to build up from here, so thanks for waiting! lol

im ready for reviews telling me how much a suck, whooo haha jk every review is welcome

ps it might be a while before i update again, b/c i only have two weeks of school left, im sure you're smart enough to figure out why id be busy lol


	11. Home, Safe and Tucked Away

_Touch my mouth and hold my tongue_  
><em>I'll never be your chosen one<em>  
><em>I'll be home, safe and tucked away<em>  
><em>You can't tempt me if I don't see the day<em>

* * *

><p>Sakura spent much of her time staring off in to space trapped in her hospital bed. She did not know it was possible for her entire body to ache so badly at once, but she did just come back from the dead. How many times had it been now that she almost died? Three? She couldn't exactly remember. She wasn't permitted any visitors, Shizune was her doctor and was adamant about Sakura being stress free during her recovery, and ruled visitors in the stress category. The stifling silence in the room only broken by the occasional beep of a machine or footsteps outside in the hall made her head swim, she wasn't used to the quiet.<p>

After several weeks of being in to much pain to move, she convinced a nurse to pump her system with morphine and gained the ability to roll around in her bed in a high stupor. She never faced Tsunade's bed, even though the Hokage was concealed by a thin green curtain just the thought of her shriveled up mentor made her skin crawl and stomach heave. She wondered what the political scene was like in Konoha now with Tsunade incapacitated, it would explain Yusei's absence, he was probably the most power hungry man Sakura had ever meet and was probably out there making the most of the situation, she was not his highest priority.

Her morphine supply was cut when Shizune came in to check up on Sakura and Tsunade and Sakura was sure a vein in Shizune's forehead was going to burst when the black haired girl began to yell after reading how much morphine Sakura jacked herself up with. So now the pinkette had to deal with daily checkups from a drug counselor and had to sit through speeches about how drugs were not the answer. She gritted her teeth and bid her time until her chakra was built up a substantial amount and she could find her voice.

"JUST MOVE ME AWAY FROM TSUNADE, SHE'S FREAKING ME OUT!" She bellowed at the nurse and counselor and a crack broke out across the window. The next day she was moved to her own room with a nice view of the hospital's court yard that smelled of freshly picked daisy's, not like antiseptic like her old room. Her parents were allowed to see her and brought up books to occupy her free time and clean close to change in to from the hospital gown.

After two months of being alone with her books and thoughts, she woke up one morning to find a new set of close folded on her bedside table and her head band rest on top. She reached forward and grasped it in her hand stiffly, some one had polished the metal until it gleamed and she could make out every pore on her face. She turned it over in her hands and the fabric slipped through her fingers before clattering loudly on the floor.

"What's going on-! Are we under attack-?" A voice yelled and Sakura jumped, turning to see a half awake Naruto flailing his arms around in the corner.

"No, I dropped my headband." She said and was surprised to hear her voice was scratchy, she hadn't talked much except to comment to her parents or answer a nurse's question. Naruto blinked at her several times as he registered her words and crossed the room in a few long strides, picking up the head band he folded it neatly before returning it to rest on top of her close with care.

"Your mom couldn't make it today and asked me to visit. I had your headband and figured you'd want it back." He said and drug his chair over to her bed side.

"Thanks." She said stiffly and sat up, ignoring how he watched her struggle with worry in his eyes. "Um, Naruto, Shizune told me that you defeated Pain. That you saved the village. Thank you." She said and meet his eyes. The innocence in his pure blue eyes sparkled and a smile stretched across his face.

"I should thank you! If I hadn't heard you call my name I wouldn't have gotten there in time." He chuckled lightly.

"I called your name?" She blinked and scanned her memory, but it was all still hazy up to her death.

"Yeah! When I arrived Konan had just killed you, it was like seeing Sasuke stab you all over again. I couldn't think, all I felt was anger." He said and his eyes softened once more and he ran a hand through his hair. She looked away and felt a lurch in her chest, that she had treated him so horribly with out much thought yet again. How much worry had she put him through over the years? Did he ever have nightmares that she'd never come back from a mission, never open her eyes again or speak a single word? From now on when choosing her actions, she'd take him in to consideration, he deserved it because he actually cared about her.

"Oh, and, erm, Shizune said you were addicted to pain killers. I looked it up and the statistics for shinobi getting addicted to pain killers is pretty high, and I don't want you becoming a drugee." Naruto coughed and she looked at him in disbelief and had the odd inkling to laugh. Naruto doing research on anything was a miracle of itself.

"I wasn't coping with Tsunade very well, they had me in the same room as her." She explained and had to fight against visions of a shrunken Tsunade and the look on Naruto's face said everything. "What's going on? Who is running the village?" She asked.

"Well, the Elders were suspended because of the whole business with Itachi, and Danzo's under house arrest until they can be brought to their own trial. The Fire Lord appointed Yusei as a step in for Tsunade. If she doesn't recover within the year a new Hokage will be appointed." He explained with a glum expression.

"Yusei will see to it that he or the Fire Lord take full control of the village." Sakura muttered and looked down at her hands, grasped in to fists on her lap.

"What do you think will happen if he does?" Naruto asked uneasily.

"His first action will be to hunt down the Akatsuki and destroy them completely." She said simply.

"He's close to his goal, I can tell. There aren't many of them left." Naruto frowned. The unspoken question rose in the air, would Sakura pick Tsunade's side or Yusei's? She wasn't entirely sure herself and decided she'd address that dilemma when the time came.

_Line Break_

Another month was spent in the hospital until she was finally released. A physical therapist had helped her regain much of her strength and she could walk with out the help of a crutch or cane but had to take her time as her muscles were still sore. Several awards where waiting for her when she returned home for 'serving the village' during the invasion and for 'acts of valor'. She did not fail to notice that Yusei's name was stamped on them instead of Tsunade's.

Naruto still came to see her with others from the Konoha Twelve. Her reunion with Ino involved a lot of crying, mostly from Ino and Sakura's mom who was always fond of the blonde. Ino informed Sakura that Hinata had finally professed her love for Naruto and told the pinkette how Hinata had jumped in the way of Pein. Sakura thought the act was reckless while Ino thought it was romantic.

She began to settle back in to her old life comfortably, going to lunch with Team Seven, shopping with Ino, running errands for her parents, and sparring with her team mates. Her Hunter uniform sat folded away in a box in her closet and she began to think that maybe Yusei had forgotten about her or she just wasn't needed by them anymore. She was called back to them when she had least been expecting it, she was with Ino and Hinata at the park and was giving Hinata advice on how to talk to Naruto and the Hyuuga wanted to know everything about the loud mouthed blond.

"His favorite author is probably Jiraiya." She thought and tried to remember the books he had but never really paid attention to him.

"Doesn't he write those dirty books Kakashi reads?" Ino turned to her with a frown and Sakura nodded to howling laughter from Ino and a deep blush from Hinata.

"Sakura Haruno." A voice cut through the air and the pinkette turned to see one of Yusei's Hunters standing a few feet away from her. The deep black cloak and featureless mask looked out of place in the cheery park.

"Yes." She stated and could feel Ino and Hinata stiffen up.

"Yusei request's your presence at once." The Hunter said simply. Sakura nodded and stood up, saying over her shoulder she'd see the two later and left in a blur with the Hunter. The air stilled and her feet landed in the hallway outside Tsudane's office. The door opened before the other Hunter could even touch it and she followed him or her in to the familiar office. The towers of paper work that usually occupied the Hokage's office were gone, the windows covered with ceiling to floor curtains, and a sense of formality drifted through the air that was never present even when the Third occupied the room.

"Ah, there you are Sakura. Enjoying your break?" Yusei spoke up from where he was seated.

"A little." She said and noticed how the seats for guests had been pushed against the wall. "Enjoying your new power?" Came out of her mouth with out much thought and immediately regretted saying it, thinking he'd retaliate in some way, but all he did was smile pleasantly.

"A little. I have good news. While you where away, we have managed to chase the Akatsuki in to a corner. The information Itachi provided us has proved useful, their leader is dead and they are desperate to swell their ranks." He said and stood up, turning his back to her to peek out of the curtain. "The final act is upon us." He said with such venom and pleasure a shiver ran down Sakura's spine.

"What do you want me to do?" She asked in a small voice, a note of tiredness slipped through and Yusei turned around sharply on his heel.

"Your role is vital, and no one else can play it. Sakura, you will go to the Akatsuki, crushed that you were to weak to fight along side your friends, that you needed Naruto to save you. Convinced that my Hunters are to involved in a village that hates you. A village that you hate." He said in a rush, his eyes filled with numerous emotions that burned right through her. Her breathing became short as she realized what he wanted her to do.

"You want me to defect from the village." She stated and looked up at him, her stomach heaving.

"You're the only one they will take, you have killed two of their members, captured another, and fought against one of their founders at seventeen years old. You are also the only one that fits the profile of a defector." He explained.

"If you have Akatsuki in a corner, then why do you need me to infiltrate them?" She challenged.

"Because they will not go without a fight and we need someone on the inside that will inform us of their every move. I'm trying to avoid another attack like Pein's to the village, every second counts against these men. You may not understand my motives but when have I ever failed?" He said vehemently and was leaning over the desk towards her, his nostrils flaring. "Every move is thought out, I do not act unless I am one hundred percent sure of the outcome. I know you do not want to do this mission because you are afraid of how it will affect your friends. Need I remind you of what they have never done for you? You don't owe them anything." He spat and she let these words sink in.

Here she was facing a mad man that was asking the impossible of her, a man that had all the power in the world over her that _her_ actions had helped give. How did she know that he would not throw her away like the Elders had done to Itachi?

"If you succeed, there will be no need for my Hunter's, and you will never be called to service again." He added in a calmer note.

"If I refuse?" She asked, looking down at her feet to keep her voice steady.

"Then all of your friends, especially Naruto, will be put in grave danger, even Tsunade. That is, if she ever wakes up." He said neutrally. Slowly she digested the double meaning of his words and swallowed the knot that had twisted around her throat.

"When do I leave." She stated in a familiar dead pan voice and when she looked up a pleased smile stretched across Yusei's face.

* * *

><p><em>The pull on my flesh was just too strong<br>It stifles the choice and the air in my lungs  
>Better not to breathe than to breathe a lie<br>'Cause when I open my body I breathe a lie  
><em>

* * *

><p>The following mornings that came brought bright blue skies and a pleasant sun. The village was renewed with hope and life, Pein's scars from his attack were all but gone. To Sakura, the passing mornings were darker and darker. How could she enjoy waking up, going out with her friends, or even walking the streets of the village when she'd soon knowingly betray it? She had never been fond of the place and truth be told could care less what a majority of it's inhabitants thought of her, but how could she even look in Naruto's eyes anymore? His spirits had lifted considerably since she had returned to 'normal' as it seemed on the surface, she couldn't bring herself to picture the hurt on his face when he would find out of her betrayal, he'd never forgive her.<p>

She was to leave at the end of the month around one in the morning when the guard shifts changed for the night and it was easiest to go unnoticed. The only one to know about her mission was to be Yusei and the other Hunters, her expected time within the Akatsuki was to be nine months give or take, as Yusei expected the organization was planning something. She packed all of her weapons away, her medical scrolls and other sources of reference, and a few spare change of close. She wished she could go to Itachi and ask him for advice, or even just how he coped with it, but he was currently incarcerated for six months and she did not know where.

Only three days were left for her in Konoha and she decided she'd spend them with what was left of Team Seven and Ino, she owed them that much. With Ino she helped out around the family flower shop even though customers would look at her a little warily and even spent the night at the blonde's house like she used to when they had been kids. She actually went to Team Seven's meetings on the bridge and would endure Sai calling her Ugly and Naruto either blabbing on a million miles a second, and even paid for their lunch later that day.

On her last official day in Konoha she traveled up to the mountain as the sun was rising and sat atop the Third's head, her mind cleared of all thoughts as she watched the sun rise. She returned all of her books to the library and had a small chat with the friendly librarian who had recently gotten married. Before lunch she picked a few wild flowers that grew in the park and tied them together with her old red ribbon in a limp bow. She set out to the hospital and had to explain for thirty minutes to the lady at the front desk that she was there to visit, not work. She had to take a few deep breaths before entering Tsunade's room, the smell of alcohol wipes and antiseptic hit her in the face like a brick wall when she opened the door and tried not to look at the empty bed that had been her's for a few blurry months.

Tsunade's curtain had been pulled away to where the sun shone directly on the frail woman, she wasn't hooked up to as many machines anymore and her skin showed some signs of healing. Sakura froze at the foot of the woman's bed chewing on her bottom lip. The old woman dying in that bed had been her first real mentor that cared about Sakura's abilities.

"I don't really have anything to say, Tsunade-sama. I'm sorry if I ever worried you, I never meant to be any trouble. Thank's for everything." She said and laid the flowers down on Tsunade's hands folded across her chest as if the woman was about to be carried off down a set of steps and lowered in to the ground for burial. Sakura stood there for a few more moments before diving right out of the window and hopping across the rooftops, trying to erase the image from her mind and the years of guilt that had been shut away.

She landed on the ground, her chest heaving from the sudden burst of activity and looked around. She was outside a familiar Ramen stand and wasn't surprised to see a blonde haired boy sitting at the counter next to a girl with long purple hair and another boy that had a dog lounging at his feet.

"Hey guys." She chirped as she slid in to a seat next to Hinata who smiled kindly at the pinkette.

"Hey Sakura-chan! I was just betting Kiba here that I could beat him in an arm wrestling match! What do you think?" Naruto asked her loudly.

"Hm. I'm not sure." She acted as if she had deeply thought about the issue.

"Let's settle this then!" Kiba barked and slammed his elbow on the counter. Naruto slapped his hand against Kiba's and they where locked in a deadly game as each struggled to push the other's hand down.

"How are you Sakura-san?" Hinata asked in a polite note, gazing at the girl innocently with her clear eyes. Sakura was a little freaked out by them, the Hyuuga eyes always seemed to see right through a person down to their core, and in a way they did.

"Good, I visited Tsunade-sama in the hospital and was a little shaken. But I'm good." She said breathlessly and Hinata nodded.

"Kurenai-sensei gave birth to her baby a few weeks ago. Kiba and I just came back from visiting her." Hinata said quietly. Before Sakura could continue their conversation any further, Naurto's hand slammed on the counter top and Kiba roared with victory. Roused from the noise, Akamaru began to bark and the other patrons in the stand turned to stare. The cook came out and started to gripe at them and Hinata and Kiba decided they'd just leave as they had to meet up with Shino and spar for the after noon.

"I was hoping he'd buy me another bowl of ramen if I won." Naruto pouted and stared glumly at his tower of dirty bowls.

"I did not know that Kurenai was pregnant." Sakura wondered out loud and frowned and Naruto slowly turned to look at her. "What? I've been out of the loop for a long time." She grumbled.

"About that. Ino said a few weeks ago one of Yusei's Hunters came and took you to see Yusei. What's going on with that?" Naruto asked in a hushed tone, concern was written across his features.

"He wanted to see how I was doing and gave me an update on what's been going on with the Hunters." She said, staring at her lap and tracing a circle on her hand with her thumb.

"They haven't called you back in have they?" He asked in a hushed tone and leaned toward her, his blue eyes hard with emotion.

"Not yet." She said barely above a whisper and had to quint her eyes to keep her face from betraying her. She wanted to appear cool and calm, not show the mess of emotions that where bouncing around in her head. "Naruto, how could you ever forgive me? For all of the rotten things that I have done over the years?" She asked and when she looked up she was surprised by how close he was to her and scooted back a bit, heat rising in her cheeks.

"Because you're my friend Sakura-chan. People don't usually know they've made a mistake until it's to late. I'm just glad I got you back before you had to go down the same road as Sasuke." Naruto said with a sad smile at the mention of their rouge team mate. Sakura managed to smile back, even though those very words made her feel even worse.

"Yeah, me too." She said and their conversation was cut short as the owner came over to make small talk with Naruto. As they were leaving the genin that Naruto was friends with raced up to them and began to pester Naruto that he owed the rookie ninja a training session. Sakura tore herself away from them and muttered to her team mate that she'd see him later, glad that he was to preoccupied with the kid and was not looking at her, as she was sure for a moment that her expression slipped. As she made her way back to her house she decided she was content that her last memory of Naruto was such a simple one.

_Line Break_

Sakura stood in the middle of her room nodding the herself. She had cleaned her room, stripped it bare of any clutter to the point where it looked as if no one had lived in it for some time. Her bed was neatly folded and made, her desk organized, and the door to her balcony stood ajar. The small clock on her desk read that it was thirty minutes till one. Her parents were gently sleeping down the hall and a calm silence had settled around the village. Peering out of her door, most of the village was illuminated with the soft glow of the moonlight, she could only make out a few scattered lights.

Crossing back over to her desk she sat down and pulled out a paper and pen, placing them in front of the picture of the original Team Seven. Her eyes lingered only for a moment on the photo, a different mix of emotions rising in her gut. _I can't believe my hair was ever that long, _she thought and remembered she had put off a hair trim for a while now. She'd get to it later.

She wanted to leave some words behind but had had trouble deciding what she should say. These words would be digested, analyzed, and repeated over and over again once people realized she was gone, so she had to give them something interesting to say. Chewing on her lip her eyes darted to the photo again and her pen scribbled across the page at top speed for a few minutes. She reread her words and decided that was as good as it was going to get and stood back up.

She changed in to a black turtle neck tank top and matching pants with closed toe boots and a tougher sole that was suited for hours of walking. She strapped her medical belt at her waist and slung her back carrying a few spare change of close, weapons, her scrolls and other important sources of reference. She tied her now shoulder length hair out of her face with her headband and shrouded herself in her Hunter cloak. She clicked her light off and was plunged in to darkness.

When she reached the door leading outside a single shaft of moonlight broke out from the clouds and illuminated her in a pool of eerie light. The minutes ticked by as she stood there staring up at the break in the clouds where the moon was glimpsing through, and tore herself away once another cloud slid in the way and she was just apart of the dark once more. She did not look back as she began to fly above the rooftops, nothing was stirring below in the village except for the occasional stray shifting through the trash.

She wondered if where she was going if Sasuke would be there, as he had been rumored to be with the Akatsuki last. Funny how a year ago she would have given anything to kill him and now she could have cared less. She could sit and play the blame game like she had before, but now she understood that she was the way she was because of her own choices, not what others had done to her. If she went back she did not know if she would change anything, she couldn't think of a worse situation to be stuck in than the one she was in now, but who knows, maybe in a different universe she had lost against Sasori.

Her feet hit the soft earthy ground and she turned her head to peek over her shoulder, glimpsing the village's gate for a brief moment before she turned back around and plunged head first in to the dark forest.

* * *

><p><em>So crawl on my belly 'til the sun goes down<br>I'll never wear your broken crown  
>I took the road and I fucked it all away<br>Now in this twilight how dare you speak of grace  
><em>

_-Mumford and Sons, 'Broken Crown'_

* * *

><p>idk if she'll make it to Akatsuki, depends on how i feel when i write the next chapter. bleh. im beginning to like yusei's character, needs a little bit more development<p> 


	12. The Road, Part One

_So crawl on my belly 'til the sun goes down_  
><em>I'll never wear your broken crown<em>  
><em>I can take the road and I can fuck it all away<em>  
><em>But in this twilight our choices seal our fate<em>

_-Mumford and Sons, 'Broken Crown'_

* * *

><p>For a long time Sakura had hated the traveling aspect of a mission, how it left her alone with her thoughts that had consumed her. But now that she had resurfaced from the dark pool she had been drowning in, she liked the traveling part. It was easy for her to disconnect from herself, to just become a vessel. Arms and legs in full motion as she traveled atop the forest's canopy, her breath steady and chest rising and falling in uniformity.<p>

She thought she'd be an emotional wreck on her way to certain doom, but she had been so wrapped up in her emotions for so long now all she felt was a numb acceptance of what she had to do. She had come to accept that she was a horrible person and would always hurt those that cared about her and could not do a thing about it. She just hoped that they would not be disappointed in her, just angry. If there was even the slightest chance that she'd make it out alive from this, she would devote the rest of her life to making sure she never hurt her friends, especially Naruto, in any emotional way. She was not Sasuke.

She traveled for two days nonstop, until the ache in her stomach and pressure on her eyes became to much. She found a sturdy branch and tied her bag around it then dropped down to the forest floor to scavenge for berries and brought a single kunai in case she ran across any animals. After a short walk she found a blueberry bush and picked a large handful, dumping them in her pockets. There wasn't an animal in sight and she returned to her nest in the tree to eat. She pulled out a map Yusei had given her that when she channeled her chakra in to, a black x would appear marking her destination. Quickly she calculated that another two days of travel was needed before she'd reach Akatsuki's current whereabouts.

As she nestled her head on top of a wadded shirt she was using as a pillow and pulled her cloak around her she wondered what was happening in Konoha. Had the Anbu searched her room yet and found her note? How were her parents? Was Naruto coping well? What were the rumors now claiming now that she had done what everyone had expected her to do? Her head recited the parting words she scribbled down for the thousandth time.

_My name is Sakura Haruno, shinobi of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. I am your dammed weapon, the second coming of Uchiha Itachi, forbidden in heaven and useless in hell. I will return for my funeral._

Kakashi stared down at the note in his hands, focusing on each word penned even though he had memorized them by now. He looked up silently as Naruto continued to shout at Yusei, the blonde was shaking from head to foot and his voice cracked several times.

"We have to go after her! She doesn't know what she's doing!" He shouted, angry tears spilled out from his eyes and he balled his hands in to fists to keep from breaking something.

"Sounds to me like she does." Yusei said calmly, his arms held behind his back. Naruto clenched his teeth and tried to keep from growling, Yusei seemed as if he did not even care. "Two of my Hunters will be dispatched at once, they will be much more effective than a band of chuunin Tsunade would have sent out." He said briskly and turned to open up Sakura's file.

"But-!" Naruto began to protest but Kakashi laid a firm hand on his shoulder and the blond haired ninja turned to look up at his sensei who shook his head wearily.

"There isn't anything we can do Naruto." He said with a heavy sigh, wondering if he really had been such a lousy teacher to deserve two missing nins for students. Naruto stared back at Kakashi with a hard set expression for a few minutes before jerking his shoulder out from under Kakashi's hand angrily and stormed to the door.

"You've all given up!" He growled under his breath and slammed the door after him. Yusei raised an eyebrow at Kakashi as he sighed yet again and followed his student out silently. He traced after the blond haired boy down the steps and in to the lobby, but for once Naruto's speed kicked in and he quickly distanced himself from his teacher once they were outside.

Naruto did not know where he was going but when he finally calmed down he found himself leaning over the rail of the bridge Team Seven had unofficially claimed as it's own. He blinked several times and remembered the numerous times they had meet there and waited silently for Kakashi through the morning, he could just picture Sasuke leaning against the railing across from him casually staring off in to space and Sakura sitting on top of it reading and occasionally glancing Sasuke's way. It had only been five years ago but it felt like a lifetime ago.

"There you are." A voice huffed and he turned to see Ino striding toward him, Sai trailing behind her with his usual neutral expression. "I have a plan." She said briskly and Naruto blinked at her then turned to look at Sai who shrugged. "You two were her team mates and close friends, and I was her best friend. I know for a fact that she would never betray us. Something fishy is going on, and I want to go after her." Ino said and placed her hands on her hips. Now Naruto remembered why he never really liked Ino, she was a tad bit bossy.

"Do you think we'd actually get away with going after her? What do you think Yusei would do?" Sai spoke up.

"I couldn't give a damn what Yusei will do, I answer to the Hokage and my Hokage is unconscious in a hospital bed." Ino said sharply, a fire blazed behind her hard blue eyes, a fire Naruto could respect.

"I'm in." Naruto said and Ino smiled widely at him, at this Sai scoffed and muttered something under his breath before agreeing to go to.

"There's only one problem, we don't know where Akatsuki is at." Ino frowned, having over looked this one crucial element.

"There's someone locked up in Konoha who does," Sai said and the other two looked at him quizzically, "and I know where he's being held."

Half an hour later, the three crept along the darkened halls of Root, it had been abandoned months earlier for good, but in the scramble of Pain's attack Itachi Uchiha's envoy to the prison tucked away in the country side had to be reassigned to help defend the village, and a makeshift cell was created for him inside the old headquarters. Afterwards, Yusei deemed that this an acceptable holding place for Itachi's short sentence.

"Where are his guards?" Naruto frowned as they descended yet another flight of stairs.

"He doesn't need any. The building itself is an endless maze, plus there are still a lot of the old jutsu's in place to repel intruders and keep him put." Sai explained. His hands were kept busy breaking the many jutsu's in the way until they reached a rather well kept hallway and the sound of symphony music faintly wafted through the air. All three exchanged looks before moving along and they arrived at a stretch of wall that had been knocked away and replaced with plexiglass to look into a small room.

Itachi sat at a desk with his back turned to them reading, a record player was placed next to him and was the source of the music and his room was not unlike the one he had had back in the Hokage Tower. Sai raised a hand and knocked once on the wall sharply. Itachi looked over his shoulder, his eyes landing a few feet away from were they actually stood.

"What brings Naruto and his friend to my cell?" He asked pleasantly and stood up.

"My team mate Sakura has defected from the village and is going to the Akatsuki." Naruto spoke up.

"And you want me to tell you where Akatsuki is?" Itachi finished and Naruto nodded vigorously. "They could be anywhere. They have more than one base. I'm curious though, why did Haruno leave?" He asked.

"She didn't really say, but left a note saying '_My name is Sakura Haruno, shinobi of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. I am your dammed weapon, the second coming of Uchiha Itachi, forbidden in heaven and useless in hell. I will return for my funeral'." _Ino recited. Itachi was quiet for a few moments then a small smile twitched at the corner of his lips and something seemed to register behind his dull eyes.

_Line Break_

The Hunters that had been sent for her just left. Sakura stood on the cliff side over looking the valley that separated her and the Akatsuki's headquarters. The sky here was a rusty red from the sunset and the wind was unusually warm with foreign scents. Her campfire, or attempt at a camp fire, blew ashes that swirled around her feet and for once she didn't care that her hair was to long and blew all over her face.

The Hunters had talked allot, about the village, politics, Yusei, and the Konoha 12. But Sakura just tuned them out, they got to return to that place while Sakura probably never would. The last thing she wanted to remember Konoha by was all of its politics. This really was it, Yusei had been correct. The final act was about to commence, she had deluded herself in to believing she could actually escape her fate as a Hunter, as a weapon for the Village.

She tore herself away from the view and slowly cleaned up her campsite, bundling her things back up and burying the fire pit. She pulled her hood up and over her free flying hair and set out to cross the valley as the sun threw tall shadows all around before disappearing under the horizon. Only the sound of her footsteps barely brushing against the forest floor could be heard, it was as if Akatsuki's presence in the valley had chased out the forest life like a shark in the water.

Gradually the feeling of being watched crept up on her, the hairs on the back of her neck stood ramrod straight and a kunai slid into her palm slowly. Her muscles tensed as she took several steps forward, she crept through the underbrush like a tiger wound up to pounce. The silence of the forest pounded in her ears as she strained herself to listen for the slightest movement. She whipped around and the clang of metal tore through the silence.

Not pausing to get a good look at her assailant, she kicked them in the gut and took off running through the forest. Pushing wind out of her heels she propelled herself from the ground and threw her hands out to catch herself on a thick branch and scrambled to get to her feet as she could hear the attacker straggling behind her. Could it be one of the Akatsuki? No, she decided, they'd be able to match her speed, so maybe they were a guard?

Her heart lept into her throat when another attacker appeared on her left, then another on her right. They slowly began to close in on her, pressurized wind exploded from her palms in a large bubble and blasted away the leaves on the trees and stripped away layers of bark. Her attackers were sent flying head over heals away from her. She dropped down back to the forest floor and landed hard on her heels. Luckily her cloak hid her well and she slithered through the shadows to get away. If she could find a place to hide like a cave or the hallowed out den below tree roots she could loose them, if not she'd have to reach Akatsuki before the group could get their hands on her.

She came across a large clearing that once upon a time must have been a patch of farmland but was now overgrown with bushes of purple roses. Ducking down to where she was practically belly with the ground she darted forward and was shielded by the bushes. She sensed a familiar chakra enter the other side of the clearing and sucked in her breath. Why on earth was Ino searching through the clearing? Her blood began to boil at the thought of Ino having the gall to even try and take her back to Konoha, and had drug her teammates along with her for help.

'Of course nothing can ever be simple for me.' She huffed and inched herself along, masking her chakra completely. She wished she could tell Ino what she was really doing, but doubted if the blonde would even believe her, half the village still thought she was insane. She froze completely as her former best friend stepped toward her, the girls muscle's locked and ready to fight, her head moved from side to side as her eyes searched the area.

Not even daring to breathe, Sakura slowly raised her palm and a blast of wind exploded from her hand. Ino was thrown forward and tangled inside a rather nasty thorn bush, purple rose petals swirled in the air from the remains of her attack as Sakura jumped to her feet and glided over Ino and back in to the forest. The padding footsteps of the other two were hot on her trail, adrenaline pumped into her system as the panic from being chased overwhelmed her. Something streaked ahead of her and a lion reared it's head at her. She stomped down with her feet to stop herself from running head on into it and a deep crater rumbled from under feet involuntarily.

It was then that she was it was made of ink and Sai's lion lunged at her. She whipped out another kunai and ran it straight through when a second bounded toward her and she barely turned around to slice it in half. The artist himself materialized from the forest, his expression grim as his hands raced across his paper. Sakura bit back her words, as she owed him nothing, and wondered why on earth it was Sai and not Choji or Shikamaru. As the third lion lept out of the sketch pad there was a flash of orange and yellow to her right and Sakura fumbled her weapon, allowing the lion the graze her shoulder and cut a deep gash.

"Sakura, what are you doing?" Naruto spoke like a concerned parent who had caught their child misbehaving, and Sakura wished he had bellowed it out with all of his anger, not speak it with such disappointment and hurt in his eyes. She was so close to the Akatsuki base, so close with never seeing Naruto again, but now he had appeared and shattered the comfortable end she had set up between the two, now she would always be haunted by this Naruto standing under the moonlight with his eyes showing just how broken her betrayal had made him.

'Wait! The Akatsuki!' She cursed inwardly, she was leading her friends closer and closer to their base, and they would have been more than happy to kill Ino and Sai and snatch up Naruto for his Nine-tailed Fox, and if Sakura tried to protest they wouldn't trust her.

"You need to leave, it isn't safe!" She said through gritted teeth and smashed her fist against the ground with all of her might, the ground moved like water with large rolling waves and trees began to crash all around. Wind whipped out of her feet and she arced over the tree tops themselves, pushing herself away from the epicenter of her attack and began to fall through the canopy, limbs whipped against her face before she grabbed onto a large one and hauled herself to her feet. Pausing for a moment she searched for their chakra's and was relieved to find that the three had grouped back up but were staying stationary, for now. She was still a few hours away from the base but the release of large amounts of chakra had probably caught the Akatsuki's attention.

She continued on, flying through the tree tops at great speed and kept tabs on her friends who continued their chase shortly later. In the gaps of the twisting tree limbs she caught a glimpse of a large black mass above and upon closer inspection she made out the motion of two moving heads and a flash of a tan colored head and her breath hitched in her throat as she recognized the vulture from her visions above, almost guiding her forward. Her foot slipped and she fell to the earth, at the last minute a small plume of air slowed her descent and she landed with a dull thud.

Suppressing a groan she stood up and flooded healing chakra to her sides and ankles. In the dead silence of the forest she heard the whoosh of a blade and ducked out of habit, a white blade glinted above her head and shot downward to be driven right through her. Her foot shot up and kicked the blade away at an awkward angle, and carried her momentum to do an odd back flip and landed on her feet facing her attacker.

"Just who I wanted to see." A familiar cocky voice sneered and Sakura looked into the coal black eyes of Sasuke Uchiha, devoid of any human warmth. Only filled with the maddening desire to kill, a look Sakura was all to familiar with.

"I'm not here to kill you." Sakura said warily. She eyed his sword, it was shorter than before and curved, and her jaw fell open when she recognized the cherry blossom petals etched into the pure white blade and her family's crest on the hilt. Now she knew where her sword had ended up.

"Are you sure? It seems last time we met you replaced your obsessive love with the obsessive desire to kill me." He smirked even wider.

"You should know about obsessive desires to kill, huh?" Sakura let the retort slip out of her mouth without thinking and the blade was at her throat before she could blink.

"How dare you talk to an Uchiha like that, I should cut you open and rip out all of your innards!" He spat, pure hatred and anger burned behind his eyes and a maddening lust for blood that chilled Sakura to the core. "In fact, I should kill you for hurting my brother as well, you don't know your place amongst Uchiha's." He spat.

"Go ahead, kill me by my own sword." She smiled pleasantly at him and he raised an eyebrow.

"Before I do, I want to know why you are here." He hissed.

"I came to join the Akatsuki." Sakura stated. Sasuke looked at her with his deadpan eyes for several seconds before his mouth twisted into a painful sneer, as if he was trying to suppress the urge to laugh.

"Why?" He asked slowly.

"I gave up on Konoha, kind of like you did." She shrugged. Sasuke took a few steps back, shaking his head and still smirking as if he was enjoying his own private joke.

"I don't believe that in the slightest, Sakura. I think Konoha gave up on you." He said and all Sakura did was shrug. "I'll tell you what, I'll put in a good word for you if you kill the two ninja following you, save Naruto, he's mine for later. If you don't kill them, I'll know, and I'll kill you instead." He said, twirling her sword in his hand like a baton. Sakura nodded slowly to show she agreed, if she objected then he would think she was still loyal to Konoha. "Oh, and don't forget your sword." He said and took several swift steps toward her before burying the sword in to her gut, patting her on the back as she coughed out blood. He stepped away smiling maddeningly as she fell to her knees, struggling to remain conscious before he disappeared.

She gripped the hilt of her sword and pulled it out a little to quickly as blood spouted from the wound. White spots clouded her vision and the world spun around her. Cold crept around her and her eyes rolled in to the back of her head as she fell to the ground, cursing that dammed Uchiha boy for being so difficult. She placed her hands on the wound with great concentration and green chakra flickered from her palms and a tickling sensation welled around her torso. The bleeding slowed to a crawl until the gash closed up and she let her hands limply fall to her sides before succumbing to the heavy feeling in her head.

Her eyes flew open in what felt like a lifetime later, the area where Sasuke had stabbed her dully ached and she was laying face up, her hands and legs bound together with thick rope, but they hadn't bothered to put any special tags on them as they must have figured she would not wake up. Moving her head she spotted the back of Ino sitting a few feet in front of her in front of a camp fire, Naruto was asleep across from her and Sai was busy on his sketch pad.

_'My luck keeps getting better and better.' _She hissed inwardly and turned to look up at the sky. Now that she was severely depleted of chakra, she had to face her task. Of course the Akatsuki would send Sasuke looking for the source of the chaos in their forest, a Sasuke so far into his own madness that he did not hesitate to mortally wound her and task her with murdering Sai and Ino. She closed her eyes and grit her teeth to keep a few tears from leaking out, was this a shred of what Itachi felt when he had to kill his entire family?

Letting everything fall away like she had done a thousand times during her missions, she set to working on freeing herself. They had taken away all of her weapons, and Ino must have healed her wound further, but they kept her gloves on. Slowly she moved her hands to work the ropes to the metal plates on them and clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white and with all of her force she pulled and ripped the bind in half. She bit her lip to keep from crying out and glanced to make sure the others hadn't heard her. Reaching down and quickly untying the knot that bound her ankles, she turned to scan their campsite for her weapons.

She spotted her sword leaning against an overturned log with her weapons pouch and the various hidden weapons she kept on her. Her hands flew together and a shadow clone appeared next to her. Her clone turned on her belly and slithered forward through the grass around the campsite with jerky speed. Sakura saw her clone pop her head over the side of the log and reach her hand around to grab the sword. Her clone returned another heart stopping five minutes later and slid the grip of her sword into her hands before disappearing back in to smoke.

Slowly Sakura rolled over to face Ino and crept to her knees, her sword grasped firmly in hand. The first lesson she learned in the academy had been that a ninja was a weapon and that emotions would be a burden, and to show this weakness would surely lead to downfall. She was a weapon, a weapon commanded by a power hungry man for a village that had given up on her.

"I'm sorry Ino." She whispered as she charged her sword with chakra. Unlike Ino during the chuunin exams she did not see the image of her childhood friend as she drove the sword through the girl's back, she felt absolutely nothing. Sai let out a tremendous yell as Ino fell to the ground and fear flooded his eyes as she dove right at him. He drew his own weapon to counter hers and the sound of clinging metal resounded through the clearing. Naruto began to stir and raised his head to look around at the scene with bleary eyes.

Sai was pretty much her equal, their fight could carry on for hours. She just needed to injure him severely to get Naruto to flee back to the village with him and Ino. Their weapons locked together and she looked him dead in the eye. He glared back with enough venom to match Sasuke's, if it was possible. Her fist shoot forward in a blur and struck his abdomen with enough force to shatter bones, and judging by the cracking noise from his ribs it did just that. He gasped and fell to his knees holding his sides and to her surprise, he began to move to stand up once more.

"Sakura!" Naruto yelled and jumped to his feet and charged right at her. She ducked under his fist and kicked his feet out from under him. Sai clumsily swiped at her with his own sword and she moved her's to block it as Naruto came back around, his fist struck her side to her surprise and she buckled over, carrying her momentum she rolled backwards and pulled her fist back as if she was to slam it against the earth. Both boys tensed up considerably, in a flash she moved toward Sai and struck him several times with the Black Monk style, but not before he nicked her in the shoulder and arm.

When Naruto was distracted by Sai, she snatched up her weapons pouch and personal bag then shot in to the underbrush, holding the gash on her right shoulder and her sword in the other hand. Sakura heard Sai yell something and then shortly after that Naruto's painful howls echoed after her as she blindly zigg-zagged through the forest with only one intent to put as much distance between an upset Naruto and her as possible, and threw a large gust of wind behind her for good measure.

It took her a few minutes to realize that Naruto's unearthly noises had stopped and she had to slowly come out of running, she had been so afraid. Shaking she hid behind an overgrown fern bush to catch her breath. Closing her eyes seemed to help release her a bit from the reality of what she had just done and blocked the flow of tears that was trying to push itself out. She leaned her head back and took a deep breath when something exploded on her right.

* * *

><p>i originally wanted this chapter to go all the way up to her actually joining akatsuki, but i realize that would be one very very long chapter, and prolonging this update any longer wouldn't be good either<p>

im not sure about this chapter, part of me likes it part of me hates it, it's meh


	13. The Road, Part Two

Sakura barely had enough time to turn her head and look as gravel, dirt, fallen leaves, and twigs exploded from the ground like shrapnel and the area slighty shook from the impact. She could feel the attack on her heels as she fled, the hem of her robe singed slightly and the back of her legs stung as she got hit. She was low to the ground and able to see Naruto try and slam his arm down on her, his finger nails twisted in to claws and his teeth sharpened in to fangs. His eyes were a bright red, almost glowing like cats eyes in the night. Red chakra whipped from his heels and lashed up more waves.

"Naruto, calm down. It's me, Sakura!" She said, wielding her sword horizontal at arms length. His chest began to heave as he looked at her and his eyes darted all around her face. He lurched toward her and she tensed up at once, her sword raised to strike and pulsing with her own chakra, but he paused. He stared her down for a split second that felt like an hour to Sakura and in an enormous burst of energy he flung himself at her snapping and clawing at her like a rabid animal.

She had just enough time to jump out of the way of one of his swipes and dropped her sword as his claws nicked her side and opened shallow cuts, but the brunt of the attack exploded right next to her. She rolled to dodge his other hand and covered the back of her neck with her hands as the ground vibrated, he was trying to smash her head in by bashing the ground with his claws, like a fox digging in the snow for food during winter.

She rolled and pushed herself to her feet and jumped above another attack like a gazelle springing out from danger. The wave of energy and raw chakra exploded barely a foot below her face she shielded poorly with her arms. She felt her head band loosen and there was a faint shattering noise. She fell on her back and felt terror rise in her throat.

"Naruto-!" She screamed out from instinct and a hand flew to her throat, but he stopped his advance and seemed to freeze. Her lungs burned as she dared not to breathe for several minutes. Slowly his eyes bled away back to blue and his immense chakra crept back inside to its source, he shook violently as he fell to his knees and collapsed roughly in to the dirt. Sakura watched the raised dust settle around Naruto's flushed cheeks and she fell to her knees over him. She surged what little chakra she had left in to her palms and over Naruto's wounded body.

Several of his ribs had cracked and his chakra system had been rubbed raw from the surge of the nine tail's chakra, and she discovered several internal cuts that if left unchecked for only a few days and he would be bleeding to death. Her hands held steady and calmly rest on top of her lap as she waited for Naruto to slowly stir as the minutes passed into an hour, even in the moonlight Sakura could see his skin was throbbing. Sakura silently rose to her feet as his eyes opened and automatically rest on her own.

"Why?" Naruto spat as he shuffled to his feet in what appeared to be slow motion. She swallowed a knot that formed in her throat, he was to disgusted with her to even look at her, she noted as he looked at his feet as soon as he rose.

"You couldn't possibly understand." She barely found her voice as Naruto glared at his feet.

"It's Yusei, isn't it? Is he part of the reason you're leaving?" Naruto snarled and snapped his head up to look at her. She blinked several times, a little taken back that he could connect the dots so quickly, she forgot sometimes that he was more observant than he let on.

"No." She said and brought herself to look him in the eye. It was like glaring in to the sun, the intensity of his eyes and how he was looking at her as if he was a man betrayed by his faith, that all he knew was a lie.

"Sakura, I swear if you are lying...I know you're above this." He said in a raspy voice raw from anger. She tore her eyes away from him and stared past his right shoulder and let her face draw blank, as if his words had no meaning to her when they were shattering inside her.

"I'll be fine. You can stop looking out for me, now please leave here." She said in a deadpan voice and scooped her head band up from where it had fallen and over to her discarded sword. She sheathed it in one fluid motion behind her back which was now to Naruto.

"How can I just let you walk away, Sakura? I've known you practically all my life...you're my team mate, my friend. I care about you, I love you. I can't watch you walk down this path when I know its not your's to walk." Naruto pleaded to her in a voice hushed with emotion. Sakura tried to block out his words like she had been so successful at before, but now they sunk deep into her skin and down to the marrow in her bones.

"We're all on our own paths now, Naruto. Team Seven is tied together by our own destruction's " She spoke, and felt these words to be true, Sasuke had been right in his prediction.

"Nothing has changed." She heard Nartuo speak softly. She closed her eyes and barely fought back tears as she slowly walked forward, until she melted in to the darkness and under the cloak of the forest. Her feet carried her for miles in silence, and she felt no one following her. Had Naruto finally given up on her and let her go? Had she finally broken his stubborn will, matched only by her?

She brought her self to stop and heal herself a bit, she closed up the gash on her shoulder and a few of the deeper cuts on her side. All the while her hands shook so much she was unsure if she could perform the jutsu a few times. She pulled out the map with stiff fingers and gained her bearings, she was only an hour away. Blue flames crept around the map and she dropped it in a small pond as it curled away into ash and dust. When she reached back into her bag she pulled out her headband and turned it over in her fingers.

In the dim light she saw that the metal had shattered in one corner that webbed out across the entire plate. Small pieces had fallen off in the corner it had been destroyed at, and the leaf was distorted by deep cracks and her reflection was jumbled like a kaleidoscope. She hadn't cut ties with her village, she had utterly destroyed them. She had to place a hand over her mouth to keep a sob from racking her body and with stiff fingers she tied the head band on and pushed it up to pull her bangs back. Inhaling deeply her ,face set, she pulled her hood up.

Even though she felt as if her entire world had fallen away she moved her feet forward down the road. Actions had consequences, she knew to well bitterly. When she signed her name on Yusei's contract, she might as well have signed a pact with the devil. She had driven a sword through one of her best friends, attack and paralyzed another, and betrayed one of the few people in the world who mattered most to her. All to fulfill Yusei's ambition, he would still be nothing if it had not been for her. She had cleared the way for him to seize power; she had been his puppet to send in to war. And here she was once again a piece in the puzzle but not a player.

As these thoughts swirled in her head she was nearing the Akatsuki base and came upon a small clearing where two figures stood, one in a black cloak stained with red clouds, and the other Sasuke. They must have seen her coming a mile away and watched her make her way to them and she stopped a few feet away from them in silence.

"Ino and Sai are pretty much taken care of. Naruto fled." She spoke in a neutral tone, as if she was reporting the weather.

"Not to troublesome, eh?" The figure in the cloak asked.

"A little." Sakura said. Sasuke smirked and turned away from her, his arms crossed lazily.

"Finally. Let's go, the sun will rise soon." He said and the three departed. Sakura realized how odd her party was, she did not fit in with them. She had considered herself a good guy for so long, fighting to defend a village had been her noble cause. Now she wasn't sure what she was, the line between good and evil was too blurred to her, a vague set of morals she had never really agreed with anyway.

They walked in silence for an unknown time to Sakura as she hadn't really paid attention, but noticed the sky was starting to lighten when they stopped across from a creek, just a few yards in front of them was a drop off for another valley below. Sasuke and the Akatsuki member Sakura guessed was either Kisame or Zetsu, she wasn't sure who was left, performed several complicated hand signs and an old three story feudal style estate appeared out of the thin air over the drop off. The gate was being opened by several guards working silently and the party wordlessly walked forward once it was open.

"The Leader wants to meet you in person before you join us, he'll be by here in a few days." The robed Akatsuki member spoke, who was in fact Kisame. Maybe he was matched up with the younger Uchiha on purpose.

"So you have decided not to kill me?" Sakura asked more of as a joke.

"The Leader will make that decision." Sasuke said bluntly, and the conversation died there. They led her inside the dimly lit first floor which reeked of tea, then up many stairs and past numerous doors down labyrinthine hallways that even Sakura lost track off. There was a humming silence that hung inside every corner of the base.

They stopped abruptly in front of a sliding door that looked like every other door in the base to Sakura, and unlocked it. She was shoved inside and told that her meals would be given to her and she was not to leave the room until the Leader met with her in two days. With one last stale joke from Kisame the door slid shut and she heard it click. So, here she was, locked in side a cell for all intensive purposes. She sat on the bed tensely and gazed about the room, it was bare with a painting of some sort of bird on the wall.

As she tried to decide on what shade of beige the wallpaper had faded to, Sakura felt an odd rising sensation in her chest, as if something was trying to shove out from her skin like a shell. She felt as if she had skewered off in to a different reality back in the woods, that this life of her's was not meant to be her path. This was not what she had pictured when she had been laying in the hospital bed after failing to kill Sasuke and wondered what her true destiny was to be.

The dawn light streamed into the room in thin ribbons until it beamed down upon the glass that covered the painting and Sakura's face was reflected back at her in a halo of light. Her own dull green eyes stared back and her expression seemed to be that of some one who had given up all hope and given in. After all this was the face of a traitor and a professional murderer, a coward. She could sit there and sulk and cry about her problems and let them rule her like she had done for the past three years, or she could saddle the bull and ride it in to the dirt until it was exhausted and stinking dead.

She blinked several times and watched as if a spark had been lit behind her deadpan eyes, they seemed to burn a smoldering emerald and she could not look away until the light became to intense for her. She ripped her eyes away as the entire room was bathed in light and she turned her back to the window as spots clouded her vision. It felt as if every pore of her body was tingling, that she had burst open and she could finally think clearly.

She would not let her problems define her or submit her, nor would she give in to the negative emotions that had enslaved her. She would play Yusei's game right back, this may be the final act but Sakura Haruno was no longer a minor character. It would be her role that would write the ending, and there was not a chance in hell that it would end tragically for her or her friends and village. Yusei slithered in the night, but Sakura was bathed in light.

_Line Break_

Ino stared up at the hospital ceiling as the words of the doctor's raced through her head. Lucky to be alive, lost half of your weight in blood, etc. She was trying to wrap her head around the fact that Sakura, her best friend since they were kids, that _Sakura Haruno,_ had driven a sword through her with the intention to kill her and then went on to paralyze Sai, and even attacked Naruto. Ino did not feel depressed or sad, she was angry that her dear friend had done such a thing, but couldn't bring herself to be angry with Sakura, that would imply that Ino cared about the pinkette. Now, Ino could see no hope left for the Haruno.

"Are you awake?" A voice called down the ward and Ino turned to look to Sai who had propped himself up on his left arm, his face flushed from exerting energy.

"Yeah." She called back in a weak voice. Sai had a lot more strength now since Lee started doing physical therapy with him, after all the green spandex wearing shinobi had been told he would never be able to move either but had defied the odds.

"The doctors were here when you were asleep, they discharged Naruto last night into Kakashi's care. Yusei put him on house arrest, it's a fate we'll face when we're released." Sai said. Ino nodded, she hadn't expected Yusei to be happy about what they did anyway, the village knew about what happened right away and the gossip mill was eating it up. Overnight Sakura had become one of the most hated persons in Konoha, as well as one of the most feared and speculated, truly the self-proclaimed second coming of Itachi Uchiha.

"Did they say anything about Tsunade-sama?" Ino asked.

"The same, her condition hasn't improved or gotten worse. Yusei wants to appoint a different doctor to care over her, he's claiming that Shizune is failing." Sai said wearily. Everyone had silently agreed to cling on to the hope that Tsunade would wake up, and she would know what to do and make everything alright.

"He's going to break us all, isn't he?" Ino whispered more to herself, but she could see Sai nod his agreement. The door slid open and in shuffled Shikamaru and Choji who was toting an armful of food from the cafeteria followed by an irritated looking nurse, so their conversation was cut short.

Naruto was glaring down at the black ankle monitor strapped around his right ankle, he crossed his arms and looked away and his eyes landed on the shelf he kept his pictures and had to look away at once from the faces of his missing team mates, the freshest one to leave was to painful for him to think about, but that's all his mind kept creeping back to.

Kakashi wasn't much help, at first Naruto thought having Kakashi as his temporary guardian would be a good thing, but all Kakashi did was read when he was there and when he was gone, he did not tell Naruto were he was going, who he was going to see, or what he had been doing. Naruto knew Kakashi was doing something to stand against Yusei, that had to be the reason why Kakashi was scurrying around suspiciously, but then again, he had always done that.

"Hey Naruto, look who I brought." Kakashi said from the doorway and Naruto turned to see Konohamaru standing next to the silver haired ninja grinning and carrying several bags of take out from Naruto's favorite ramen stand.

"Thanks guys, but I'm not really hungry." Naruto smiled kindly at them and his stomach decided to rumble deeply then and a plate was placed in front of him. He began to shovel the food in to his mouth, it had been several days since he had had ramen and had to fight back tears of joy as he ate several times.

"I heard about how you snuck out of the village, you must have really upset Yusei, good job!" Konohamaru grinned from were he sat and Naruto looked over at him with noodles hanging out of his mouth and slurped them back in when he saw Kakashi glance his way with a weary look.

"Er, yeah, but it was a dumb thing to do." Naruto grumbled and stabbed at his food, but the look on Konohamaru's face showed that the genin was convinced otherwise.

"I wish I could do something to piss off Yusei, he's been making us genin teams train twenty-four seven and Iruka-sensei told me the other day that he changed the curriculum at the academy so the younger students are learning the hands on stuff early. He needs to go back to running his team of crazy hunters." Konohamaru glared off in to space and crossed his arms with a comical pout.

"That doesn't sound so bad, when we were all genin we trained a lot too." Naruto said from were he sat.

"But he's telling us what we need to train on, and if we don't meet the standard by the end of every three months, we get sent back to the academy! I don't want to go back there!" Konohamaru shook his head in horror at the very thought.

"Don't you see what this means, Naruto?" Kakashi spoke up from his own seat, his arms were crossed and he was leaning back, but his expression was set fiercely. "Yusei is building up Konoha's military." He said quietly and there was a stunned silence that followed.

"Why? To fight the Akatsuki?" Naruto stumbled over his words.

"Possibly. He calls all of the jonin in Konoha to meetings every few weeks to discuss our foreign relations and we all must give a short presentation on how we are doing our jobs. He's been forcing all ninja to meet very high standards to stay a shinobi, he's intervened in the academy and more and more civilian children are signing up for it." Kakashi set to explaining in a very calm and stable voice, as if he were discussing the weather. "In short, Konoha is preparing for war." He said gravely.

"Well, I'm ready to fight, but what would we even be fighting for?" Naruto said after a few minutes of silence.

* * *

><p>The sharp pounding on Sakura's door made her jump, there had been absolute silence in the base since she had gotten there and had been confined to the room. She tucked her scrolls back inside her bag and crossed the room to open the door. Kisame smiled down at her a little menacingly as he informed her that the leader was there and wanted to speak with her.<p>

Finally, she thought as she pulled her shoes on and wrapped her Hunter cloak around her, it felt as if several weeks had passed but in reality it had probably been only a few days. She followed the blue skinned ninja down the hallway and up a flight of steps behind a locked door. She entered a hall that was hardly even lit and a thick coat of dust muffled her every movement. Paintings hung on the walls of battle scenes and mythical beings, there was only one door and Sakura knew there was only one place it could lead to.

The room she entered was massive with cherry oak flooring and a ceiling to wall window that overlooked the forest beyond. This must have been some sort of throne room once upon a time, Sakura thought as she spotted a large round table in the center of the room were the organization must conduct their meetings when they used the base, but the only person seated there was Sasuke who had propped his feet up on another seat and looked very bored.

"Where-?" Sakura began but was cut off by a sharp blow to the back of her head and she crashed landed to the ground. In an instant she flipped back up to her feet and spun around, her fists balled and ready to fly but she halted upon seeing one of the Akatsuki members she vaguely recognized from Tsunade's bingo book, he was short for a man and wore an orange mask with a swirl spanning from his right eye.

"That was for all the trouble you caused me before." He said darkly with a voice Sakura would not have guessed him to have. Her head still pounding, she lowered her fists and changed her stance to a casual one.

"Why would I have caused you trouble?" She frowned and heard Sasuke quietly chortle to himself.

"Because you almost ruined my plans several times and killed a few of my men. Good thing you're on my side now, huh?" The masked man said and slunk away from her and Sakura understood then, he was the leader. She hadn't really thought who the leader would be since Pein died, Sakura had sort of figured it would be Konan or someone else, just certainly not this guy. If she remembered correctly, his bingo book entry said he was the weakest Akatsuki member, so why was he running things now?

"In case you did not know, my name is Madara Uchiha and I am the leader of Akatsuki. Now, I already know of your skills and your worth if you were to join us. I'm just wondering, why?" The leader spoke as he turned to look at her from behind the table and Kisame went to sit down as well, leaving Sakura to stand before them. Her head pounded dully from where Madara had hit her as she tried to scramble together her alibi. Wait, had he said his name was Uchiha?

"My time in Konoha ran out, its value was up. I sacrificed everything for that village, I gave my blood, sweat, and tears for it and all I got in return were rumors of my insanity and a death wish from everyone I swore to protect. Konoha is two steps away from hell at this point, so I left before I went down with it." She spoke words she once thought were true and was surprised by how real they sounded, she was not afraid that she was lying to an S-class criminal's face.

"Reasonable enough. I have informants that tell me Yusei is mounting a final siege against us. Would you know anything about this?" Madara spoke behind his mask and Sakura felt a chill creep down her spine, she could almost picture his eyes behind the mask staring straight at her own.

"No, I was not involved with the Hunters for my last few months in Konoha because I had been incapacitated from Pein's attack." Sakura swallowed before she spoke. The next few minutes were silent as Madara just sat there and stared at Sakura who stared back, wondering what her expression was as she looked back at the faceless man. She could hear her heart beat steadily as the tension rose in the room, a pin hitting the floor could be heard in the silence then.

"Alright, I'll let you stay but eventually you will have to do something for me. We shall keep a close eye on you, and when reckoning comes for Konoha, you shall be the horseman that brings it. Are we clear?" Madara spoke after he eventually was satisfied with what he had been looking for in Sakura.

"Yes, sir." Sakura said a little quietly and Madara ordered Sasuke to escort her back to her room. With his usual sigh, Sasuke got up and kept his arms crossed as Sakura followed him out in a daze. She was still alive, so that was a plus. They hadn't fully accepted her in to the fold, but were allowing her to stick around. The Akatsuki thought she was one of them, and Yusei thought she was his double agent, when in reality she was her own agent flitting between roles she had to play. Her head spun in confusion as she tried to grasp her vague plans as she realized she would basically be stumbling her way through everything and hoping for the best.

"Here." Sasuke's voice cut her out of her daydreams and she almost bumped in to his back but stopped just in time.

"Thanks." She mumbled and reached for the door. Sasuke did not say anything as he turned and made his way down the hall. Sakura paused in her doorway and turned to watch his retreating back.

"Sasuke." She called and surprisingly he stopped and turned to look at her with a cold indifferent look. "What happened to your headband?" She titled her head to one side as she asked.

"I threw it away a long time ago." He grunted out and turned back around. Sakura waited for him to turn the corner before crawling back inside her room and shutting the door. For some reason she thought he was lying.

* * *

><p>i hope i got madaraobito right, lol sorry for the late update again, but at least I got it up before the new years :D im very iffy toward this chapter since it isnt really a stand alone one but a continuation of the other, but ah well, i think ill come back later and revise it a little but for now i just wanted to get it done with and posted


	14. Servants and Masters

The fire exploded around Yusei's hand and as soon as it appeared it died away into a small pile of ash that fell through his fingers. Sakura's reports came like clock work, at least twice a day in the early mornings and the dead of night, hours more honest people would never rise at. She must be working very hard to scurry under the radar of the Akatsuki that were keeping her both as prisoner and guest, he thought with a smirk. When he had first meet the pinkette she had been in the perfect shape to mold and create in to a Hunter, emotionally vulnerable and eager for power and recognition, a young shinobi with to much to prove.

He moved away from the window of the Hokage tower he had been staring out of, the blinds drawn as he enjoyed a good sunrise every once in a while. Yusei turned to glance at the open bingo book that lay on the desk, half of its contents were covered with a bright angry stamp that announced them not a threat, dead. Its newest entry however, was open, and it sure was a troubling case. The photograph was a grainy shot of a man in an orange mask decorated with a swirl around his right eye. One sentence was penned in Yusei's hand writing, 'Who is Madara Uchiha?'

With information he had acquired, through various means, he had learned the new identity of the Akatsuki leader. He had been hiding in plain sight all along, and this fact had made Yusei feel very foolish indeed. He was so close, yet still so far.

"You know, I'm quite fond of those mints." He said and there was a tinkling noise in the corner before Kakashi Hatake came in to view with the bowl of mints in one hand.

"How did you know I was here?" The silver haired ninja asked.

"I could hear you breathing." Yusei said simply and held his hands behind his back. "Now, what is the nature of your untimely visit?" He asked.

"We need to talk." Kakashi said gravely and Yusei motioned for him to begin. "I believe you are leading us in to a war we can not win."

"What makes you think that?" Yusei frowned as he sat down and folded his hands over each other, the entire time his expression was severely sarcastic, as if Kakashi was telling him a stale joke.

"Our numbers. Our morale. The village still has not recovered from Pein's attack, none of us want to see another war decimate Konoha and another generation of kids." Kakashi said and took several steps toward the Hokage's desk.

"So you want me to lay down and do nothing? You want me to let the criminals walk free and terrorize the weak? Can you not see that I have driven the Akatsuki in to a corner and they can finally be destroyed?" Yusei said, leaning back in his chair.

"Then let your Hunters take care of it, not the rest of us." Kakashi said lowly and Yusei laughed.

"Sacrifices must be made, Kakashi Hatake, toward greatness. I thought you of all would understand." He smirked and Kakashi tensed, his expression unreadable.

"Is Sakura another one of these sacrifices?" Kakashi breathed, and at this, Yusei was quiet for a few short seconds.

"Since when have you ever cared about Sakura Haruno?" He rose an eyebrow and a sly smile crept to his lips as Kakashi glanced down to his hands.

"I may not have always been there for my student, but I will no longer sit aside and let you turn her in to your puppet." He spat angrily.

"I already have." Kakashi had hardly any time to blink before he was thrown back and slammed in to the wall. He quickly drew a kunai and sliced the black tentacle that had shot for his neck, a thin black mist was wrapping itself around Yusei, and the black tentacles seemed to dance around his feet in eerie swirling motions. "There is a time for words, and a time for action, Kakashi." Yusei said as he passed through the desk like a ghost.

Kakashi sprang forward, seeing his window to once and for all end this, and swung the kunai at Yusei's throat. Before he could even come close to making contact, one of the tentacles shielded the attack. A soft rattling moan filled his ears and Kakashi was frozen in place as he heard a dead voice call out to him. A second tentacle wrapped itself around the silver haired ninja's torso as more voices began to echo from the mist.

"Sir! We felt a burst in chakra, is everything alright?" Two of his Hunters ran in to the room and came to a halt at the scene. Kakashi felt a cold creep up on him, and he did his best to fight the falling away sensation in his head.

"It seems, Itachi will have a room mate for the time being. Take this traitor away, I'll deal with him when I return from the Summit." Yusei spat with venomous anger as the mist dissipated around him and Kakashi's unconscious body fell to the ground. The Hunters hesitated for a moment before moving in to action.

Yusei turned his attention away from them and pulled the curtain away with one hand. A thick beam of sunlight streamed against his face and he had to squint to see through it, before stepping away back in to the shadows and letting the curtain fall.

* * *

><p>Sakura could not bare to look at herself while donned in the Akatsuki robe. She had found it the next morning after her unofficial welcoming into the organization at the foot of her bed, folded and ready for use. A ring sat on top, one that did not look familiar, and she slipped it on her thumb. Several more days had passed for her, but she was allowed to walk through the base so she did not feel completely pent up. Then she was awoken one morning by several swift knocks at her door, several impatient knocks at that.<p>

Now she found herself packing away items for a 'mission', as Sasuke had worded it for her. Finally, some actual progress, she thought and grabbed the empty scroll she would use for her reports. Some of what she fed to Yusei was true, and some of it was not. She had no idea how she would bring ruin to her former leader yet, but she knew an opportunity would present it self soon. Once everything was in order she shrugged the robe over her shoulders and found she missed her Hunter robe.

"What exactly are we doing?" Sakura asked when Sasuke appeared in the doorway.

"We are going to the Kage Summit. But first, we are going to take a detour," he smirked ominously at her, "as we speak, the bastards that ordered the slaughter of my clan are being transported to maximum security prison. I am going to stop them, and kill Danzo, you will have the rest. Then, we will regroup with Madara and Zetsu to the Summit." He explained, then abruptly turned and left. Sakura followed him out quickly, her head spinning from the news.

"Back to the Summit, what is it for?" Sakura frowned.

"For the world's leaders to talk. Madara thinks its just a disguise for Yusei to rally the other villages for war." Sasuke gave another smirk at these words. Sakura nodded slowly, and her head started to race forward. If Yusei would be there, and the Akatsuki planned on arriving, then maybe she could take him out under that guise? But wait, who would be left to lead Konoha and deal with the mess he had stirred up? For some reason, Naruto came to her thoughts and she shoved him away before she could let herself dwell there.

She followed Sasuke through the base and to the exit. The guards nodded at them as they were leaving, and Sakura knew she would not miss this place one bit. As they traveled across the forest, Sakura tried to keep her last time there out of her head. Sai's roar of anger, the defeated look in Naruto's eyes... No, she would not do this, she would not over think and get sad all over again. She would fix everything she destroyed.

They traveled in silence for hours, moving in a blur of red and black. The scenery around them changed in to rolling fields of farmland and back to the thick forest underbrush that gave Konoha its name. They were traveling dangerously close to the village and may come across several Leaf scouts and Sakura would pity their end if they did. Sasuke seemed to know where they were going, and he stopped abruptly under a thick curtain of leaves from a young oak tree. Sakura paused several feet away from him and felt the day of traveling ware her down a bit.

She searched the area for any chakra signatures but felt none. She opened her mouth to voice this when the creeping silhouette of a wagon appeared around the bend in the trail. Headbands flashed in the night and she could just make out the guards that flanked the cart's advance. Next to her, Sasuke was practically quivering at the thought of finally executing his vengeance, but would this really be the end? How many times had he changed his vendetta?

'Sasuke, are you even in there anymore?' The tragic thought ran through her head. Had this thought often crossed Nartuo's mind on the nights she was absent in his life? If she could come back from the dark, then surely so could Sasuke? Only time would tell, she decided.

He silently unsheathed his sword and it flashed once in the moonlight. Sakura copied him and gripped her old sword firmly, she had missed the weapon that had saved her life on several occasions. There was a tense second as the convoy passed before Sasuke struck like thunder.

Lighting exploded in a flashing web around the wagon as his chidori tore it in half. The guards were stunned for a moment before finally springing in to action, and Sakura danced around them in a blur, making sure to knock them out rather than kill to save them Sasuke's mercy. The prisoners inside were left in a huddle in the middle of the smoldering remains, their arms and legs free from their chains and a few were shaking with violent spasms from the electric shock.

Danzo was easy to pick out among the group, his eye patch and dropping figure contrasted against the others. Sasuke pointed his sword at the man with a total look of disgust and Sakura could feel the hate rolling off of him.

"Danzo Shimura, get to your feet." The old man slowly rose up, as if he was trying to stretch himself out to intimidate. It felt as if the pressure of the air increased with each breath as both men remained silent.

"Well boy, get on with it!" Danzo growled in defiance. Sakura turned her head as Sasuke flashed forward and struck with a burst of his lightning blade. Danzo was quick to respond with a burst of wind that deflected the lightning and send it bouncing back. Sakura dodged out of the way with a leap of her heart, and realized she had left the other guilty elders in danger.

Slithering around their fight, Sakura snatched each body up and hauled them away to the sidelines. She'd knock them unconscious each time, leaving them to wake several hours later with a bad headache but alive. Though she was repelled by them for what they had done to Itachi and the Uchiha's, she did not think that they deserved die. They had been sentence in court and received justice, that should be enough and it was for Sakura. But Sasuke was out for blood.

Sakura thought the battle would be quick, more of an assassination than anything but the old man was not going out without a fight. The tree's transformed to his whim and he manipulated them to protect him from the flowing flames of Sasuke's susanoo. She once again had to dodge around the back draft of the attacks, and the earth around them was scorched to ash.

'Dammit, they're still not safe.' Sakura thought as she glanced back to where she had left the others as the battle began to spiral out of hand. Noting that they weren't paying her one bit of attention, Sakura raced forward and once again dragged each elder and guard farther away to safety several yards through the thick foliage. When she returned, Danzo's right arm was mangled beyond use and Sasuke was beginning to stagger from exhaustion.

"Is that all you got? Itachi wouldn't even be out of breath." Danzo goaded with a booming laugh before he wretched over to spit out blood. Sakura thought Danzo was in no position to talk, his right arm was severed and his chakra levels were severely depleted. Sasuke didn't have much fight left in him either, but he was on better footing than the former leader of Root.

Another wave of black flame washed over Danzo, and Sakura thought for sure he would be done. When Sasuke reeled in his susanoo, Sakura's jaw dropped when she spotted Danzo's crippled figure. There was a loud crunch, and his right arm fell to the ground in splinters. He was dragging himself now, his ragged breaths cut through the air and Sakura turned her head away in pity.

"I will take you to the grave with me! For Konoha!" Danzo roared. Sakura couldn't believe her ears, even though the village had chewed him up and spit him back out he was loyal to the end. Even though he was a power hungry would-be tyrant, that was still more than Sakura could ever say.

There was flurry of movement as Sasuke, using his last bit of strength, ran past her. Sakura glanced back at Danzo as a black sphere was blossoming out from where the man had just been. It barreled toward her, and Sakura didn't have to think twice before escaping its path.

She tore through the underbrush, following Sasuke's noisy path as he thundered through it. She found him close to where she had left the others, he had fallen and had decided to stay there. His chest rose up and down rapidly from ragged breaths and Sakura could sense that his chakra was completely gone. He was at her mercy now. His eyes shot toward her at the sound of her footsteps but strayed several inches from her face to the right, and his face twisted in to a scowl.

"What?" He snapped and struggled to sit up. Sakura moved to stand in front of him and crouched down to his eye level.

"You'll bleed out quicker if you move." She stated and instantly he froze.

"Aren't you a medic? Stop standing there and do something." He huffed but Sakura sat there in silence for a few seconds.

"No. I wont heal you, unless you agree to something." She said and he muttered something under his breath that sounded cruel. "Yusei is going to be at that summit. I want you to help me kill him." She said bluntly, no point in dancing around the subject. Sasuke arched an eyebrow then snorted before smirking widely at her.

"Why would I do that? Yusei doesn't mean anything to me." He said and Sakura had expected him to play the 'what's in it for me' card.

"Because if you don't then you'll die here on the forest floor. I can also help you, I know where your brother is being held." She said, and tried not to wince when she said that. She hadn't heard of Itachi ever being sent to the prison, so he was more than likely still in Konoha. Plus, she had to make it worth wile to Sasuke, he wouldn't let her heal his eyes either because then she'd have more knowledge about the Sharingan than any non-Uchiha in history.

He growled at her offer, not very wowed by the prospect of being in Sakura's debt. Finally he gave a huff and nodded, muttering that he would help her. She instantly felt relieved, with Sasuke as an ally against Yusei, and a powerful one at that, then there was actually a chance that she could dethrone him.

Sakura made a quick process to heal him, the longer they stayed there close to the battle ground the more likely they would be discovered by curious investigators. He was on his feet in ten minutes and his chakra level low, but not gone. It would take them another two days of traveling to reach the summit from where they were, and if Sasuke did not exert himself to much, he'd be in perfect condition to take out Yusei.

Thankfully, he did not question her motives and they remained silent as they sat around at camp. It had been her idea to rest for the night, Sasuke had wanted to keep going even though he had come close to dying less than several hours ago. Sakura chewed on her thumbnail as she pondered the best way to attack Yusei, straightforward would be pointless because his defense was near impenetrable, so their best bet was to surprise him and catch him off his guard.

"Is Yusei the reason why you left?" Sasuke's voice startled her out of her thoughts, it had been the first full sentence from him in a while.

"Sort of." She mumbled, glancing at his face as he leaned against the trunk of a tree. There was no expression, not even a smirk, just a mask.

"Ah. I thought so, you only ever play the role of a shinobi when some one else pisses you off." He said and Sakura frowned.

"Then what the hell are you doing?" She shot back and he was silent. There weren't any smirks, laughs, or even death threats. When she looked back over to him, he was staring off in to space with a bored expression and for one fleeting moment Sakura saw the eyes of the thirteen year old boy she had once called a team mate before they disappeared back down the deranged dark tunnel Sasuke had fallen in to.

"I am redeeming the Uchiha Clan. I put to rest my murdered family when I killed that pig." He spat and Sakura could feel the venom seeping through him. Sasuke implied that he wasn't letting others push him in to action, but his entire life he had done just that. He was acting for himself, just as everyone seemed to do. Just like Sakura had done. The only ever true selfless person she had ever met was Naruto.

Naruto fought to protect his village. Naruto fought to save his best friend. He fought for the people he loved. At least Sasuke was still dear to Naruto, Sakura was as good as dead to him, and this thought made her very sad and filled her with shame. This was it though, she was reaping the casualties of her selfishness and someday soon so would Sasuke.

"Your revenge is done, Sasuke. How can you still be loyal to a clan that does not exist?" She asked after several passing minutes without saying a word.

"Loyalty. Hmph, we were told to be loyal to the village, to be loyal to authority. As both being traitors, I don't think you should be speaking of _loyalty._" Sasuke spat the word out as if was physically painful and Sakura stared down at her feet, watching the shadows from the fire dance across the darkness.

"Don't tell me you're Madara's man through and through." Sakura muttered more to herself and ran her fingers through her knotted hair.

"That's just it, isn't it? We're all only as loyal as long as it benefits our goals." Sasuke jutted his chin out as he spoke and Sakura could practically hear the smirk in his voice. With his revenge done, then what were Sasuke's goals now? Sakura bothered not to ask, she did not want to hear his answer. It scared her to much.

Within an hour Sasuke had dozed back off, Sakura glanced over at him from the other side of camp. He was still tensed up, ready to be at his feet and swinging in a moments notice. She had never factored Sasuke in to the future because he had never been there, but now she could see that she was foolish to do so. Sasuke's future was just as much as part of her own as Naruto's, they were a team whether Sasuke liked it or not. He was dangerous and unpredictable, a crash was coming soon in the form of a head on freight train collision and Sakura was standing right in the middle of the tracks.

If only she had been stronger sooner, had been able to fight away Orochimaru in the forest of death, or had been a better friend to Sasuke. But that had been a long time ago, and Sakura did not dwell in the past anymore. She closed her eyes but was unable to fall asleep.

* * *

><p>funfact, this is the shortest chapter i have ever posted :D<p>

i actually cut out half of this chapter to make it part of fifteen which should be posted in a few days. im close to the ending and I want to finish this before summer

fyi, i stopped following naruto after the invasion of pein arc so i had to read and skim articles to catch up with the canon so if my plot seems silly please bare with me, then again, this is fanfiction :)

i love all the alerts and favs i have been getting, make sure to leave a review :)


	15. In the Light of the Sun

Sakura fluttered her eyes open at the sound of movement, Sasuke was wordlessly covering their fire pit and did not even glance at her as she got to her feet. They were traveling again within the half hour making their way to the Land of Iron. In her head Sakura was going over every possible variable for her showdown with Yusei, and tried to keep her nerves calm. She had sought him out thinking he was salvation, but Yusei had been her undoing. For this mistake, one of them would pay with their lives.

The two traveled all day and stopped only as the sun was falling behind the horizon. Drifts of snow fell in wispy swirls but they found a dry tree to sleep in for the night, no use in making camp. Sakura sent out a report to Yusei once Sasuke fell asleep, riddled with false information. He would only know that Madara and Zetsu may show up. When they got up the next day, sore from sleeping on top of a tree limb, Sakura wondered where they would meet with Madara and Zetsu or if Sasuke knew what to do before hand.

She screwed her eyes up to the sky, it had been snowing for a majority of their time in the Land of Iron but as they neared the Summit the clouds thinned and the sun broke through to a beautiful deep blue sky. Trying not to focus on the growing feeling of unease in her gut, she picked up on the chakra levels within the summit. Her stomach plummeted with such a high level of power under one roof, getting to Yusei would be harder than she thought.

Sasuke was eyeing the guards that patrolled the perimeter of the building, samurai clad in shiny armor and strapped with long swords. Sakura grasped the hilt of her own sword as an afterthought.

"Try to keep up." Sasuke said over his shoulder before moving forward, driving his sword through one of the guards. Frowning but not one to be shown up, Sakura got to her feet. Drawing out her own katana she clashed with a nearby guard, shouts echoed across the compound as they panicked. Sasuke picked them off without prejudice and Sakura moved at an impressive pace to match his.

They moved in to the entrance hall where more guards were scrambling over themselves. Sakura paused to flick blood off the blade of her sword while Sasuke continued on, almost gleeful among the bloodshed. As the last of the guards fell to their attack, the door to the summit was thrown open and out _flew_ one of the scariest men Sakura had ever seen. His face was twisted in to pure rage as he regarded Sasuke, lighting twisted and exploded from his body as he raised his fist.

Sasuke did not miss a step, a half formed susanoo exploded around his form and the deadly black flames of the amaterasu countered against the massive onslaught presented by their new challenger. Sakura cursed, she did not have time for this distraction and she ran ahead to see if she could spot Yusei, she had lost his signature during the chaos that ensued following their less than elegant entrance.

Before she could get very far, a blast of wind knocked her off her feet. She quickly recovered and dodged around another, sending her own gust of much more powerful wind angrily from her hands. She heard some one yelp as they fell and Sakura swung her sword down. There was a clang of metal as Temari's fan blocked her deadly strike, Sakura blinked down at the familiar face in shock for several seconds before rolling out of the way of a torrent of sand.

"A! Stop!" Gaara yelled as the man howled with pain. Sakura glanced over at the man that had attacked Sasuke, A, who had smashed up his hand in an attempt to break through Sasuke's defense. One of Kankuro's puppets slithered toward her but as it raised its arms to trap her in a hug, she formed a chakra barrier that rebuffed his attack.

"I speak to both of you, as your friend. I urge you to abandon your path of darkness. I followed a similar road before, it is lonely, it is bitter, and it leads no where. There are better things waiting for you once you give up the wickedness in your heart." Gaara spoke, never blinking as his eyes shifted from Sasuke and to Sakura, who glared back at him from behind her barrier. Since when had Gaara been one for heartfelt speeches? She remembered him as a murderous and unstable shinobi from the Sand, whom she had to save once the Akatsuki ripped his demon from his gut.

"Stand aside Gaara. You're in my way." Sasuke said and raised his katana at arms length, pointing the tip towards the red haired shinobi's heart.

"Can nothing be done?" Gaara muttered quietly and Sakura saw out of the corner of her eye a tendril of sand was creeping its way slowly upward and slithering behind them. Sakura opened her mouth to warn Sasuke when the area exploded with black fire. She barely ducked out of the way of a blast of Amaterasu and made a run for a pillar to take refuge behind when a wall of sand blocked her path. She reared her hand back and felt a powerful build up of pressure behind her clenched fist that when she released it, she felt her self fall forward but managed to keep her momentum going and rolled through the momentary hole she had created in the sand.

'I can't stick around for this.' Sakura hissed in her head and glancing over her shoulder once as Sasuke was enveloped in the susanoo, she decided to go on with out him. Yusei was more important than the Sand Siblings, and she did not know how long it would take Sasuke to stop them and if Yusei would even have stuck around by then.

'So I'm going to face him alone.' She thought and tried to feel confidant but she felt as if she was running toward execution. '_I can win_.' She thought solidly, she was not going to be fighting for herself or as a tool. She was fighting for Konoha, for her friends, for every horrible thing she had ever done to them, done to Naruto.

Sakura ran ahead with heavy feet but did not get very far down the passageway to the Summit hall when the ground beneath her feet shook so violently she lost her balance. Clouds of dust swirled past her and she couldn't believe that some one had caused a cave in.

"No problem, I took care of it." A voice grunted behind her and she jumped to her feet with a wild look as she regarded Sasuke. He wasn't even slightly injured and was giving her a mad smile. She nodded once and turned to continue making her way down the hall, Sasuke following silently behind her. With each step she felt the cold tingling of fear grow more and more in her gut. But now was not a time to be afraid, her luck had lasted this far so whose to say that it wouldn't help out one last time?

She had burdened herself with Yusei's ambitions and her own self loathing, then later the guilt that followed but today, Sakura would be burdened no more.

_Line Break_

"Naruto-! Open up!" A fist pounded against the Naruto's front door. He looked up from his pillow groggily and blearily searched for his clock. Whoever had just woken him up at six in the morning had _better_ have something important to say.

"I'm coming!" He snapped when the knocking turned to a pounding. He threw the door open and Sai barged past him followed by Neji and Shikamaru (who at least looked like he had just been woken up as well). "Hey, no fair they don't have you all locked up!" Naruto pointed an accusing finger at Sai who rolled his eyes.

"Kakashi has been arrested." Neji blurted out and Naruto was stunned silent for several seconds with an expression as if his brain had stopped working.

"WHAT! Why? What'd Yusei do?" Naruto growled immediately.

"I don't really know, I saw the Hunters carrying him away only thirty minutes ago. Tenten and Ino have heard rumors already that it was for treason." Neji said calmly, as if issuing a report to get Naruto to calm down but this visibly upset him even more.

"Where are you going?" Sai called when he stormed off after calling Yusei a few choice words.

"To get my shoes!" Naruto yelled back when he disappeared in to his room.

"How about some pants." Shikamaru grumbled. A fully clothed Naruto appeared but as he approached the doorway, both Sai and Neji held out their arms to block his path.

"Naruto, you're still on house arrest. And it wouldn't do you any good, Yusei has already left with his body guards to the Summit." Neji explained.

"Summit-?" Naruto gave him a puzzled look. The three other nin's exchanged wary glances at this subject and Sai cleared his throat.

"Naruto should know, it concerns all of us now anyway." He said and dropped his arm with a shrug.

"Will someone please tell me what's going on? I haven't even had breakfast yet and already I don't like this day." Naruto huffed and sat down on his couch with a heavy plop.

"Danzo was killed last night on his way to prison. The other Elders were spared and reported that Sasuke Uchiha and another Akatsuki ninja attacked them." Sai said and immediately there was a pressure in the air from these words. Naruto looked up, and already Sai could see the name in his eyes.

"Anbu reported back this morning that they found chakra samples of Sasuke, and the direction he is headed in is directly toward the Summit." Neji finished. "He is a threat that we can not keep ignoring Naruto. He now threatens Konoha and has allied himself with the Akatsuki. If it's one thing I agree with Yusei on, it's that they must stopped."

"I know." Naruto said quietly as he looked out of his window and tried not to glance at the picture that sat on the bookshelf near it.

"Sasuke was your problem Naruto, like Sai said, it involves all of us now. We want your permission to stop him." Shikamaru spoke up, his dark eyes piercing towards Naruto. At this, Naruto jumped to his feet with a hard look of determination set on his face.

"Only I can handle Sasuke, you'll only be setting yourself up for failure if you try, or worse." Naruto said and shook his head. "You don't understand." He added quietly.

"Is Sakura only your problem to?" Sai spoke up and Naruto's eyes flashed dangerously. Neji and Shikamaru glanced warily between the two.

"So she's with him." Naruto said and clenched his hands in to fists. "Something's not right, not even Sakura seemed like she wanted to leave. I saw the look on her face in the forest, Yusei is behind this, I know it." Naruto's words grew more and more heated as he spoke.

"Even if he is, what are we going to do?" Sai pointed out.

"We're going to go to the Summit, _and stop them." _Naruto growled and for once, everyone agreed with him.

* * *

><p><em>"I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know I am the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon you."<em>

_-Ezekiel 25:17_

* * *

><p>There were five chakra signatures still within the Summit hall. One stood out immediately to Sakura, an immense shell of power with chakra that seeped through their system like mud. She stole one last look at Sasuke and he looked eager, his blood red eyes flashed in the darkness. As they ran toward the doorway outline with white light, Sakura took one last bone rattling breath and unsheathed her sword with a firm grip.<p>

_For Konoha. For Naruto._

The two Hunters Yusei brought as protection reacted immediately to our arrival, a wall of energy pushed Sakura back but she was able to stay on her feet and blocked a fatal attack with her sword. The Hunter did not waste any time and kept on their feet, a fighting style taught by their master. She twisted around the Hunter's attacks, and allowed herself to take the Black Monk stance after discarding her weapon.

Bursts of chakra escaped from her hands and feet as she attacked, the air quivered around her moving limbs but the Hunter's speed was greater than her own. Quickening her pace until her hands and feet were a blur, her pointed fingers finally landed against the Hunter's shoulder which immediately went limp. The Hunter made to lunge forward to attack again, but Sakura swept their feet out from under them and knocked him or her out a little clumsily.

A stunned Kirigakure Hunter nin and one of the Kage's were flanking Yusei. The man she had considered her master, her savior, was staring right at her with a tempest churning behind his eyes.

"Ao, Onoki, I have enjoyed our little chat but I am afraid that I have other business to attend to." Yusei spoke slowly with venom seeping through his words. The two nin backed away without a moments hesitation, but they would stay for the show. Sasuke wasted no time in hesitation and his chidori struck with a tearing crash. Yusei dodged out of the way in the blink of an eye and roundhouse kicked Sasuke. A burst of chakra shook the air as Sasuke blocked it with his shoulder and swung his glittering sword of lighting in a wide arc. A black tentacle shot up and took the hit, and more swirled around his ankles. A faint groan chilled Sakura to the bone at their appearance.

"Did you think it would be that easy?" Yusei tilted his head to the side slowly as the tentacles eerily drifted to their full height above his head.

Sakura was in the middle of the fray before she realized it and her own sword was moving in a blur to match the Black Monk style. Every where she looked the tentacles were trashing for her body, and on top of it all Sasuke seemed frozen to the spot with his mouth hanging open. She threw her fist to the ground and the earth exploded from her feet.

Yusei jumped back and Sasuke was thrown to the other side of the room but Sakura kept her ground as the aftershock rumbled the hall. She glanced back to her ally as he got to his feet, an intent look of fury set on the Uchiha's face. She whipped her head back to Yusei in time to deflect a ball of what looked like fire, her chakra cut through the black energy and it dissipated with another unearthly moan.

Her former teacher was staring her down, as if trying to decide what he should do. Sakura clutched her sword until her knuckles groaned and the blade quivered from a burst of chakra she unknowingly sent through it.

"Miasma...eat." Yusei whispered and the black tentacles danced around his feet in circles. She was thrown upward and sailed head over heals as the tentacles, or Miasma as Yusei had called it, had caught her from behind. She sent a burst of wind from her hands that ripped through the ghastly tentacles. It let out a horrible shriek that echoed through the halls like nails on a chalkboard. She landed on her feet but a cage of tentacles were waiting below like folding hand gesturing her forward.

She rolled, practically laying on the ground and swung her sword around furiously. A fan of black fire washed over head, Sakura was only saved from the tentacles overhead that had moved to smother her but where incinerated instead.

"How dare you use the dead in your technique." Sasuke was several feet from Yusei, who was almost completely shrouded in the black mist now. He was crouching down, no doubt from having to escape the deadly black flames.

"Did you hear something that frightened you?" Yusei asked as if he was talking to a child and smiled. Sakura felt a spike in Sasuke's chakra and she didn't have to look at Sasuke to know that he was furious, he was practically shaking. Another wave of black flames exploded from the Uchiha, this time directly aimed at Yusei. Howling filled the Summit hall as Sasuke was wrapped in his Susanoo's ribcage. Alarms starting ringing in the Pinkette's head, he had just tried to summon the Susanoo, did he have it in him to do it twice?

Yusei's eyes flashed gold from behind his veil of mist that whirled around him like an aura until it rose almost twelve feet above his head. Sasuke lunged forward, his blade ready to cut through Yusei's body. A rattling moan followed by a howling roar came from Yusei's Miasma as it formed a wall of energy to deflect Sasuke's attack. As the brilliant violet flames of Sasuke's Susanoo clashed with the inky black energy of the Miasma, all was still before the black tentacles exploded from the wall and barreled toward Sasuke.

Sakura summoned one of the wind currents Yusei himself had taught her, a powerful gust that ripped through exposed beings as if they were made of paper. Sasuke's half formed Susanoo protected him but the Miasma was stripped away from Yusei, revealing him sitting with his knuckles on the ground for support. Pushing the surging current around the room, she concentrated it in the center before sending it hurdling for Yusei. The ground around him exploded and for a second he was not visible through the cloud of debris.

His form flew out of the void like a big cat leaping for prey, Sakura was thrown to the ground as his hands wrapped around her kneck and slammed the back of her head on the floor.

"You traitorous ungrateful, _brat_ ." He spat, his arms were shaking as they squeezed the air from her lungs. Fire balls were hurled at the back of Yusei's head, but the tentacles had reappeared, and they kept jumping in the way of the hits. "You teach them, you train them, and all you ask for in return is _their service._" He growled and tightened his grip. Sakura felt the last of her air escape her windpipe and her vision blurred. Yusei's already creepy face was distorted almost comically.

"_Tyrant." _Sakura wheezed barely above a whisper and slammed her knee in between his rib cage and hip with enough force that he was pushed off of her. She heard a gut wrenching crack and he rolled backwards, clutching where she had hit him with a dazed expression. He must not have been used to pain.

Sakura knew enough about the human anatomy to know that she had hit his intestines with enough force to cause major internal damage, and that had been her goal but she must have hit one or two of his ribs which had been the cracking noise and they would have pierced his organs. He had been just angry enough and had forgotten to pin down her legs. Hadn't he been the one to tell her to not let her emotions get the best of her in battle?

"It'll end up being fatal." She mumbled the rest out loud as she staggered to her feet, her throat sore and throbbing. He had nearly squeezed the life out of her and she could feel some damage he had done. Yusei stumbled back a few more steps, and he tried to straighten up but his face visibly flushed. He chuckled a few times under his breath then smirked, holding his hand to his injured side.

"So am I to believe that you have actually pledged your loyalty to Akatsuki?" Yusei cleared his throat, and his voice cut through the air like glass.

"No, I am loyal to Konoha and to the Hokage." Sakura said and shrugged out of her dammed cloak, happily balling it and throwing it on the ground.

"So you're here to kill me and save the day? How inspirational and stupid," Yusei barked out one short laugh, "I do not die easily!"

Sakura did not bother to respond but raised her sword. The wispy black energy slithered from Yusei's right shoulder and down to his raised hand and fingertips. He fired it off like a shot gun, each blast more powerful than the last that aimed right for her head. Sakura's sword vibrated as she cut through each hit, only her chakra was resilient against his attacks.

Sasuke had taken the opportunity to grow his Susanoo, and launched an attack at Yusei. A powerful surge of the black energy passed through Sakura as Yusei had to focus on Sasuke's deadly aimed attacks, and she went cold. She felt her chakra drain heavily, and her muscles went stiff and useless. Sakura fell to her knees and began to wretch, everything hurt and she could not stop shaking. Her chakra paths felt like they were on fire, something in the Miasma was attacking her system.

Her first thought was that maybe it was a form of genjutsu, but she was not caught in an illusion, this was very real. But what sort of ninjutsu attacked the opponents internal systems? She could feel the Miasma's path and its effects, the black chakra was forcing its way through her, devouring her own. It was literally killing her from the inside.

_Sakura, you can't give up! _

But it was so much easier to give in, she thought she she curled in to a ball, clutching her stomach as she convulsed and everything went blurry. Yes, even the Miasma agreed, it was such much easier to give in.

_The Sakura I know would not give in. _

"Shut up, Naruto." She growled and felt her right hand reach to her sword with the last of her strength. "I can't give up." She whispered and felt tears sting at her eyelids. The ground rumbled as Sasuke and Yusei continued their fight, the pinkette fixed her green eyes on their forms.

Sakura closed her eyes and channeled her chakra to her sword, and the Miasma followed with a creeping speed. The pure white blade began to vibrate as it was stained black, once she felt every ounce of the horrible energy leave her, there was only a dull ache in her chest. She got to her feet slowly, using her sword as a crutch.

Sasuke's eyes were bleeding red with his sharingan, his susanoo was almost completely formed and the violet flames were flickering black with the Amaterasu. Yusei's Miasma was back ten fold, groans echoed off the walls from the black void that surrounded the tentacles. Yusei himself had his back to her as he orchestrated his attacks.

Her feet barely touched the ground as she sprinted forward, her sword was raised and ready to strike. She slipped past the Miasma's dancing tentacles, and felt only a small shudder as she grew near the black mist. Yusei glanced over his shoulder for a split second and his eyes widened at her in surprise.

His arm guard blocked her first strike, and a burst of chakra exploded from her blade. Yusei flinched out of the way, but Sakura was not afraid. She attacked him viciously, everywhere he moved her sword growling with his own Miasma was waiting to meet him. He was trying to distance himself from her, to get away and employ his powerful ranged attacks.

She slammed her fist dead center where she had injured him before, and Yusei doubled over coughing up blood. He looked up as she held the blade to his neck.

"Is this your destiny then, Sakura? Was your revenge wrong in the Uchiha?" He smiled through his mouthful of blood and his already chalk white face was draining in color. Sakura frowned, then shook her head.

"No, my destiny is to stand in the sun as a shinobi of the Village Hidden in Leaves." Yusei slowly smiled at her proclamation, and the Miasma began to contract, swirling inwardly toward Yusei silently.

"I kept you hiding in the dark." He muttered as his eyes rolled in to the back of his head and he wretched out blood one last time. A howling noise filled her ears as the Misama began to suck itself back towards Yusei in a powerful surge of energy. Her hair whipped all over the place and she felt herself fall to her knees from the force.

The black mist was all around her as it was pulled toward Yusei, she felt herself being drug along with it. Sakura crawled against the current but began to slip. She dug her sword in to the ground and held on for dear life. Some one wrapped their hand around her shoulder and pulled her to her feet. Sakura squinted at the figure and thought it was perhaps Sasuke, she followed them through the surging void, holding on to their hand for guidance.

They fell out of the Miasma, air whipped at the back of Sakura's head and she glanced back over her shoulder as the Miasma circled and compacted itself in to a ball and in one last howl it blinked away. Where Yusei once stood, there was nothing.

* * *

><p>whoa! i know i said id update last time within a few days, but i got distracted by prom and graduation and yadayada<p>

a 'Miasma' according to Greek mythology is a _'contagious power ... that has an independent life of its own. Until purged by the sacrificial death of the wrongdoer, society would be chronically infected by catastrophe.' (_thanks wikipedia) and was once thought to have caused plagues b/c it was a form of pollution

i wanted the fight with yusei to span two chapters, but it ended up being shorter than that and I did not want to stretch it out to bore readers cause im not that good at fight scenes lol i also said that this story was almost over, and i think it has about two chapters left but who knows if i can wrap up sasuke's mess with that (oh and if there is any confusion, yusei bled to death from internal bleeding)

i loved the reviews i received with the last update save one, im happy with where im taking the story and everything will end up peachy keen in the end, i want to make my readers happy but if you dont get what im actually trying to say in the story then oops, ive done the best i can

oh, and with the narusaku romance, i did intend for this to be narusaku, i just never got around to incorporating it fully in to the story because it changed so many times, but dont worry to much folks

so until next time!


	16. Ashes on the Ground

Sakura realized she was breathing heavily once the room stilled to an absolute silence. Her breath came ragged and filled the quiet pounding in her ears. She unlatched her hand from whoever she had been holding on to with a vice grip and her sword clattered to the ground but she heard it in a daze.

Was she alive? Had she really defeated Yusei?

"Sakura, you're shaking." The Pinkette looked up numbly into the blue eyes of her best friend Naruto, it had been him that had pulled her out of the void. But when did Naruto get to the Summit? Wait, if Naruto was in front of her and Sasuke was across the room...

"Get down!" She jumped to her feet and pulled Naruto out of the way of a blast of violet flames. Neji and Sai appeared flanking them, poised and ready for battle. Sasuke's susanoo was flickering around him, before it disappeared all together. He walked forward slowly, smirking madly and drawing his katana, his eyes trained solely on Naruto.

The blond haired ninja pulled himself out of Sakura's desperate grasp and turned to face his old rival with a harsh glare. Sakura scrambled to get to her feet in time, but Naruto was already about ten feet away from Sasuke and speaking.

"Sasuke, I don't want to fight you but if I have to, I will." Naruto said with little emotion, as if he had convinced him self that this was the right choice to make.

"Why do you still persist on saving me? Both of you, why can't you give up your idea that I'm still your friend?" Sasuke spat, his eyes darted between where Sakura stood on the sidelines and to Naruto who stood before him.

"Because you are, Sasuke. You'll always be our friend, my brother. If killing you is the only way to stop you, I'm sorry I failed you." Naruto spoke softly and his hands trembled at his side.

"Then you are an idiot and I look forward to killing you and Sakura." Sasuke hissed and smirked as Sakura stiffened. Why did Sasuke feel the need to destroy everything of his old life? Did he feel that threatened by them? If he did, he could have finished Sakura off countless of times when they had been traveling and fighting Yusei.

Before any action could be taken however, there was a flash of light and a swirl of black. Madara appeared above them and dropped to his feet with ease. By now the other Kage that had fled were pouring back in with their guards, and several people gasped as the masked leader of the Akatsuki took stock of the situation, then turned to face the other Uchiha.

"Sasuke, now is not the time for your fight with the Uzumaki boy. You are to tired and injured from your previous battles." He said and Sasuke's face showed that he heavily disagreed otherwise. Luckily Madara was right, Sakura could sense that Sasuke was on the brink of exhaustion. He had exerted himself to much with his new found powers.

There was another flash of light, and like that, Sasuke was gone. Sakura stiffened as Madara slowly turned to face her, she imagined he was smiling widely at her for some sick reason. Naruto glanced back at her and made to move to protect her, but Madara spoke first.

"I must thank you, Haruno, for disposing of that pest Yusei. I knew the entire time of your plot and your deception and I am impressed. You killed the one man that could have hoped to stop me." Sakura's eyes grew as wide as dinner plates as he addressed her, and let out a low chuckle as she began to shake. Had she done wrong then? Were her friends in more danger now than when they had been before under Yusei's fist?

"For that I shall spare you, for now at least. I can't say the same when we meet again."

Sakura was hyperventilating now, she barely herd Madara's final words to Naruto before he disappeared. Even when she tried to right things, she ended up messing them up even more. She tried to calm herself down, but found it difficult to breath and her vision swam.

"Let her go!" Naruto roared as Neji shoved Sakura to the ground and pulled her arms behind her. Sakura winced as he placed a firm boot on her back to keep her in place. It did hurt to think that Neji of all people did not trust her even though she had just declared her allegiance to Konoha.

"She is still considered a dangerous enemy Naruto. We don't know what she is capable of." Neji quipped professionally as her wrists were bound together with chakra suppressing cuffs.

"I think the only thing she's capable of now is passing out." Shikamaru grumbled from where he stood a few feet away.

"I'm fine, I'll cooperate." Sakura said from where her mouth was against the ground. Neji pulled her to sit up, and the world spun as her head began to rush. The toll of exhaustion was finally weighing down on her, and she felt her back begin to buckle under the pressure. Every muscle screamed, her chakra system felt dry and empty, she felt dry and empty.

Faces of all sorts swam around her, some where friends, some where strangers. They looked at her in judgement, or in awe, but none of them where Nartuo. She could hear him shouting not far away, arguing with some one as he always did. Neji's grip on her remained firm as he hauled her to her feet, and that's when she started shouting.

"Naruto! Naruto, help!" She let out the words she should have said years ago, and began to thrash about in Neji's hold.

"Sakura? Sakura, I'm coming!" Naruto yelled against the mass of people as Sakura kept screaming. She felt every last breath of madness and darkness leave her body as she screeched like a banshee, until she was silenced by a strike to her stomach.

Sakura floated along in the darkness for a while, it was not scary nor was it intimidating, but a calm caress. For once, her mind was allowing her a rest. She would catch voices every once and a while, but none caused her to stir to much. She let out a blissful sigh and wished she could remain here for a while, for her was quiet, here was calm.

"She'll be just fine, it seems like she had a panic attack and passed out. She has minor damage to her wind pipe and her chakra system took a heavy toll, nothing we can't handle though." Shizune's voice called out from somewhere and Sakura turned her head toward the familiar kind voice. It was like hearing something from another life, a better life.

"You're sure she doesn't have any more damage?" Naruto sounded on edge, as if he was at his last wits.

"Yes, surprisingly. I think it she was under more stress than anything, wouldn't surprise me, she's come a long way. Now go, you need some rest yourself." Shizune snipped impatiently. Sakura's heart jumped to her throat, she did not want to be left alone at all. Her eyes shot open and she blinked away the blurriness until the world came back to her. She winced a little and looked around for a familiar face.

Her hand shot out and caught his jacket sleeve. He spun around in surprise and looked down at her with a face mixed with shock and concern. Shizune gasped next to her and scrambled around the side of the bed.

"Don't leave me." She croaked barely audible. Naruto's eyes softened and he nodded, taking a seat next to her. His hand wrapped around her own and gently pulled her off of him as he took a seat. She began to feel herself go under again and slowly closed her eyes, holding tight to Naruto's hand to reassure herself that he was still there, that she was still there.

It was something she should have said a long time ago.

_Line Break_

She woke up some time later, expecting to be alone again. Sakura tried to remember the dream she had had, but it was vague and was gone before she could really think about it. She twitched her right hand and noticed it was empty, she looked around for Naruto but she was the only one in her room.

She stared out of the window directly across from her bed, it was early in the morning outside, the sky was barely illuminated blue. She sighed heavily and closed her eyes, then they flew right back open and Sakura bolted up right. She immediately regretted it because the IV she was attached to tugged painfully and she ripped it out in annoyance.

She was here, she was in Konoha. She was alive.

Sakura rolled over to her feet and stumbled awkwardly to the bathroom. The light clicked on after she ran her hand down the wall and she supported her self on the counter to look at her reflection.

A girl blinked back with a startled expression. Her hair was long, almost past her shoulders and messy from neglect. She ran her fingers through her hair in an effort to tame it, and noticed the messy red streaks had vanished. Her eyes were no longer dull either with a dead expression, but had life once more. And for the first time in a long time, her mouth pulled in to a smile.

"Where did that brat get to?" The door was flung open in her room and Sakura jumped. She ambled out of the bathroom and leaned against the door frame. A woman with a head of blonde hair swiveled her head to look at her with piercing hazel eyes and Sakura felt her stomach lurch.

"Ts-ts-tsu." She choked on the words and felt a sob rise in her chest.

"Forget how to talk?" Tsunade raised an amused eyebrow before Sakura flung herself at the woman in a messy hug.

"You're alive! You're alive!" Sakura kept saying between dry heaves. Tsunade patted her head comfortingly and when Sakura had regained her composure, she gave her a friendly smile.

"I woke up around the time Naruto and his friends decided to go screaming off to the Summit to stop you and Sasuke. I already know what happened while I was incapacitated, and I have to say, I'm unconscious for four weeks and my village goes to shit!" Tsunade chuckled at her own joke as Sakura stared at her dazedly.

"I-I killed Yusei, a Konoha shinobi. Shouldn't I be punished?" She asked in a small voice and by the look on Tsunade's face, the Hokage had hoped that she would not bring this up.

"It's a good thing the Hokage is very fond of you, isn't it? Let's get you back into bed, you can barely walk on your own." She said and steered Sakura back over to her hospital bed.

"I'm sorry though, for everything I've done these past few years, I-" Sakura winced as she was lowered on to her bed. She felt like an old woman whose body was beginning to betray her, everything hurt and the meds where wearing off.

"Save it, I'm not to fond on sappy moments. I've had enough of them to last me a lifetime." Tsunade gave her a kind smile then rest her hands on her hips. "I've got a big mess to deal with though, and that bastard Yusei got rid of all of my bottles I had laying around. Anyway, I'm not just here to check up on my favorite annoying snot-nosed shinobi, Naruto is the second of course, but in regards to your punishment."

Sakura was silent for a few seconds as she stared off in to space, then dully gave a nod of her head for Tsunade to continue.

"I managed to get a Hokage's Pardon for you, convinced the council that you had been acting with the best interests of the village at heart even if you had to go a little rogue. Itachi Uchiha even stood up for you, and they're kinda afraid of him. However, I couldn't get you fully out of hot water. You're to be decommissioned as a Konoha Shinobi, and shall be reclassified as a civilian upon this day. Any use of your abilities to cause harm or grievance to anyone shall be meet with swift punishment, yadayada, you get the picture." Tsunade rambled on to a dazed and blinking Sakura.

"That...seems fair." Sakura said slowly. In fact, it seemed less like a punishment and more like a reward. Never again would she have to pick up her sword and cause harm, never again would she be used as a weapon for another man's ambitions. Maybe she'd get a job at the Yamanaka's place, if Ino had forgiven her, at least. Tsunade was watching her intently, but seemed satisfied with whatever she was looking for.

"On a one to one note, there's still a lot to be dealt with. Madara is rallying the Akatsuki for war, and he's capable of anything. I may need you, your skills as a medic are unrivaled, and on the field you'd be a much needed asset since your skilled with combat." Tsunade explained awkwardly. Sakura's green eyes slowly slid in their sockets to meet the Hokage's hazel pair. Madara was an evil on a whole other level, but Sasuke was an animal she was responsible for. Only her and Naruto could stop him, and it was her fault those two where now gunning for Konoha with out any resistance.

"I'll be there when you need me."

* * *

><p>why, hello! I hope you havent forgotten about this, but once again, life happened. now im on winter break from college and hopefully some more updates will be coming!<p>

i know i said last chap that there where two chapters left, buuuuuut i think there are about three, maybe four tops. LE SIGH.

this is the shortest chapter ive written for this story, but i felt that ending it where i did was a good idea. besides, if i decided to add more on to it, it'd never get put up.

so enjoy this little tid bit because the next chapter is gonna be a long one, mwahahaha


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